Probationis Vitae
by half-goddess-Katia
Summary: This is the sequel to Trials of Life. More enemies are coming and the warning the Venators recieved has a lot to do with this.
1. Peace

Peace  
  
AN: This is the sequel to "Trials of Life." To those of you who know how fast that story came out, I just wanted to let you know that this probably won't come out as fast. And I will appreciate any and ALL suggestions!  
  
Also this will involve more on the Millennium Items.  
  
Disclaimer/claimer for the story: I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" or anything related to it, however I do own the plot and my original characters. I also don't own the song used in this chapter, "Flying Without Wings", because it is owned by Westlife.  
  
Warning: This WILL involve gay relationships. Not comfortable with that, then get out. You have been warned.  
  
Also, this chapter will be in Yugi's POV unless otherwise stated. This won't happen often, but this makes this chapter easier to write.  
  
Finally, Yami=Yami Yugi, Yugi=Yugi, Bakura=Yami Bakura, Ryou=Bakura, Marik=Yami Marik, and Malik=Marik.  
  
/Yugi to Yami/  
  
//Yami to Yugi//  
  
~*~*~*~*~ = transition from song to story and back again  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Everybody's looking for that something  
  
One thing that makes it all complete  
  
You find it in the strangest places  
  
Places you never knew it could be  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Three years ago, I never would've believed this possible. I live with my Grandpa and the one I love above all others and I know that he returns my feelings. Then again, three years ago I was a different person, we all were. Three years ago I ran away, but now I'm back and everything's better than ever.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Some find it in the face of their children  
  
Some find it in their lover's eyes  
  
Who can deny the joy it brings  
  
When you've found that special thing  
  
You're flying without wings  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
We've all got better lives now, everyone of us is happy. We each have found someone special.  
  
Ryou still has Bakura, and they couldn't be happier. Especially since Yami and Bakura made an effort to put past differences behind them and now they get along relatively fine.  
  
Malik and Marik came to visit recently and we found out that they got together as well. Surprising in some ways, yet it also isn't in others. After all, every yami, including Marik, got their own bodies after Battle City.  
  
Anzu and Honda are currently together, they have been for about nine months now. Soon after I came back Yami and Jonouchi got me to help them play matchmaker and it worked perfectly.  
  
Though the most surprising couple would have to be Jonouchi and Seto. I guess the old saying is true, there is only a thin line between love and hate. They got together about six months ago, during one of the Venator's visits.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Some find it sharing every morning  
  
Some in their solitary night  
  
You'll find it in the words of others  
  
A simple line can make you laugh or cry  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
I've managed to forgive my friends too. Actually I forgave them long ago, it just wasn't until I started living with Yami again that I was finally able to forget. We're now pretty much as close as we used to be.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
You'll find it in the deepest friendships  
  
The kind you cherish all your life  
  
And when you know how much it means  
  
You've found that special thing  
  
You're flying without wings  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
And the Venators? Well, just as they promised, they visit quite often. They come over whenever they don't have a mission or are on vacation. They've also had a couple of missions close by so they could visit in the past year. I didn't expect this, considering the system, but I guess they requested these missions just so they could visit me. They really are the best friends anyone could ever wish for.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
So, impossible as it may seem  
  
You've got to fight for every dream  
  
Cause who's to know which one you let go  
  
Would've made you complete  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Currently Yami and I attend Domino University with everyone else. Though at the moment we're on summer vacation.  
  
I'm going after a teacher's degree, I'm going to go after a dream I've had for a while. I've wanted to teach younger children for a long while, probably ever since the bullying began because I hoped to help the others who have a similar problem. Yami is going after a medical degree, surprisingly. I never expected this, but what makes him happy will make me happy.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well, for me it's waking up beside you  
  
To watch the sunrise on your face  
  
To know that I can say I love you  
  
In any given time or place  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
As for Yami and I, we couldn't be closer. I guess the old saying was right, absence does make the heart grow fonder. Because ever since I returned for good I realized that I love Yami more than I ever did before. Though it may also help that I know he loves me. We are two halves of a whole, and I can't imagine how I ever lived without him. He's my life and I'm his.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
It's the little things that only I know  
  
Those are the things that make you mine  
  
And it's like flying without wings  
  
Cause you're my special thing  
  
I'm flying without wings  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
We've learned to try and tell each other everything. We share everything we have. And in the process I've learned quite a few little things that most would never notice. Little gestures or changes in expression he gets when he get frustrated or angry. I noticed some differences before, but now I've noticed more, I've gotten to know him more than ever before.  
  
And though some say we look alike and could pass for twins, we both argue with that statement. While we're the same height and have similar hairstyles and builds that's about where the physical differences end. His hair has a few more blond streaks through it and is slightly more stiff looking. Also his eyes are the deepest shade of crimson, so different from my own violet orbs. His also, unlike mine, have a certain regal shine, like a prince. The same goes with his presence. While I can easily blend in if I want, he has a harder time, he just seems to stand out. Sure, we could pass for brothers maybe, but never twins.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
And you're the place my life begins  
  
And you'll be where it ends  
  
I'm flying without wings  
  
And that's the joy you bring  
  
I'm flying without wings  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
It has been three years since I ran away and one since I returned and we're all happy as can be. Though, we were about to experience some of the most trying times to come.  
  
Yami and I were watching a movie on the couch one night. We had planned the night alone just so we could be together. We were curled up on the couch and watching the movie when we heard the doorbell ring. Confused we both got up and headed for the door.  
  
Not sensing any danger, I opened the door to the most shocking sight I've ever encountered. It was the Venators, and to say the least they all looked totally exhausted.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think about the beginning of the story? Yes, the Venators will be playing a role in this story too. Please read and review. Thanks! 


	2. Warnings

Warnings  
  
AN: Sorry this took so long to get out. I probably would've had it out around Wednesday last week, but school and karate both got to hectic so I had no time and last night I couldn't because I had some friends spending the night.  
  
I thank all those that have reviewed this:  
  
bast4  
  
Saiyan_Kitsune_Foxfire  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
Thank you all. And I appreciate all the suggestions you gave me.  
  
Also, the note later on in this chapter is written in Latin and I'm sorry if I wrote something incorrectly but I'm only in Latin I and about half way through the curriculum.  
  
Finally, I'm sorry for Selene's foul language later in this chapter, but you should understand once you know who exactly she's talking to.  
  
/Yugi to Yami/  
  
//Yami to Yugi//  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
Yami and I were watching a movie on the couch one night. We had planned the night alone just so we could be together. We were curled up on the couch and watching the movie when we heard the doorbell ring. Confused we both got up and headed for the door.  
  
Not sensing any danger, I opened the door to the most shocking sight I've ever encountered. It was the Venators, and to say the least they all looked totally exhausted.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
To say the least, the Venators looked totally exhausted, though none more so than Selene and Damien. Derek was half-supporting a nearly unconscious Selene, who had several fresh bruises, scratches, and scrapes. Damien was being held up by Jake and Jason and was looking just as bad as Selene. The other three had a few bruises, scratches, and scrapes and did look near passing out, but Selene and Damien were by far the worst.  
  
"Hey Yugi," Selene said once she looked up, "sorry to barge in, but do you mind if we spend the night?" After she said that, she fell unconscious, causing Derek to go slightly off balance. Yugi hurried and caught her and brought her in, letting Derek regain his balance. Yami did the same with Damien and he and the other follower Yugi into the living room.  
  
Yugi placed Selene on one of the two armchairs and raised the leg rest so the chair wasn't straight up. Yami did the same with Damien while Jake, Jason, and Derek all collapsed onto the couch.  
  
"What happened?" Yugi asked, worried. He'd never seen any of them in this bad a condition, ever.  
  
"Can it wait until we wake up, 'cause I'm going to pass out now." Jake said from his place to the right of Derek-who was in the middle-before his head fell forward, his red hair shading his face. Derek and Jason nodded in agreement before they too passed out.  
  
/What do you think happened Yami?/ Yugi asked worried as he and Yami climbed up the stairs to their room.  
  
//I don't know, Yugi, but we'll find out tomorrow.// Yami replied, trying to reassure his hikari, though both knew that he was nervous too.  
  
/I guess you're right. I just get this feeling that whatever happened to them has something to do with us, and it's not good./ Yugi said as he got into his bed. Yami lay down behind him and wrapped an arm around Yugi's waist.  
  
//Don't think about it tonight, just get some rest.// Yami said soothingly. Yugi nodded as both fell slowly asleep.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yugi was the first to wake-up the next morning. He lay passively in Yami's arms for a while before deciding it was time to get up. He carefully unwrapped Yami's arms from his waist and got off the bed. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 10:30.  
  
Yugi got a change of clothes-a midnight blue, cotton t-shirt and tight black jeans with his normal buckles-and went to take a shower. He came out fully dressed and went to wake Yami. He stood over the bed for a moment before he grinned a grin similar to Jake's whenever he gets a great idea. He leaned down and lightly placed a kiss on Yami's lips. He slowly added more pressure until he felt Yami start to respond, then he pulled back and snickered at Yami's disappointed groan.  
  
Yami cracked one eye open before he said, "As much as I like being woken up that way, I have to say you've hung around Bakura, Marik, and the Venators too much. You're starting to become sadistic."  
  
Yugi grinned as he said, "I know, but you love it. Anyway, it's almost 11 and time for you to get up."  
  
Yami sighed and got up before Yugi grinned again and headed downstairs to check up on his friends. When he got down he saw that they were all still out cold. He sighed and headed into the kitchen.  
  
/What do you want to eat?/ Yugi asked through the link.  
  
//How about sandwiches wince it's too close to lunch for a breakfast.// Yami said.  
  
/Okay then./ Yugi said before cutting off the link and starting on the food. Yami came down 20 minutes later in an outfit similar to Yugi's, though his shirt was black and sleeveless.  
  
"They're still out?" Yami asked after he came out of the living room.  
  
"Yup, as far as I know they have yet to wake up." Yugi replied. Right after he finished saying that there came a groan from the living room. It seems one of the Venators was waking up.  
  
Yugi and Yami both headed to the living room and saw Selene sitting up from the chair. She yawned before looking over at the pair standing in the doorway.  
  
"Good morning Yugi, Yami." She said before Yugi walked over and embraced her.  
  
"Good morning to you too. Do you want to tell us what happened or wait till the others wake up?" Yugi asked.  
  
"I think I'll wait. Can I take a shower now, though I'll need another pair of clothes." Selene said returning the embrace.  
  
Yugi pulled back and said, "Sure, just raid my closet, some of the longer pants should fit you along with a shirt."  
  
"Thanks." Selene said simply and got up to take her shower.  
  
By 11:30 all the Venators had woken up, taken a shower-each having to borrow a set of clean clothes-, and were now seated around the kitchen table.  
  
Selene was sitting in between Damien and Yugi-with Yami to Yugi's left-and her damp hair was pulled into a knot at the base of her neck. She was wearing a pair of leather pants and an emerald green sleeveless shirt she'd borrowed from Yugi. Damien, as usual, had his damp ebony hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He'd borrowed a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans from Yami. Jake sat to Damien right with his normally spiked red hair loose around his face. He was wearing a pair of Yugi's jeans and a silver sleeveless top. Jason was to his right and his hair and clothes were similar to Jake's, only he was wearing a red top. Finally Derek had his hair loose and was wearing a pair of leather pants and a white t-shirt.  
  
"So, now that you're all here, will you tell us exactly what's going on?" Yugi asked.  
  
Selene nodded before saying, "It all started when we were on our latest mission. We were to steal back an old Egyptian book that a dealer a couple towns away had stolen. We got it no problem, but the next morning there was a written note beside the book, which rested on the kitchen table. Normally that wouldn't seem weird, but we knew that we'd placed the book into the safe in the hotel room the previous night. The note was a warning, but we didn't think anything of it. The next day, three days before we were scheduled to leave, the book, which had been placed into the safe again, was yet again on the kitchen table. And there was another note, the same warning. This time, though, it was carved into the table itself and the knife used lay beside the book. That completely freaked us out and we ran and we've been running for the past two weeks. Problem is that the someone, or more the like, the something that the note warned us about has been attacking us off and on, always at night. That's why we're all beat up."  
  
Selene finished the story and Yami and Yugi stared at them all before Yugi said, "Do you still have the original note?"  
  
"Yeah," Damien said before Selene pulled out what looked like a piece of parchment out of one of her pockets. The figures on it were all hieroglyphics.  
  
"And here is the direct translation," Selene said before pulling out a sheet of notebook paper and placing it too in front of Yugi and Yami. It read:  
  
"Venators-  
  
Mone Ludum Lucidum et Umbram Obscuram cavére. Aenigma est in periculo. Ultion venibit é praeteritó. Monuimus vos.  
  
~Vigilis"  
  
"It's Latin isn't it?" Yugi asked, curious. He'd studied a little bit of Latin when he'd been with the Venators, but not much. "What does it mean?"  
  
Selene pulled another piece of notebook paper out from a her pocket and placed it in front of the two. This one they could read, it said:  
  
"Venators-  
  
Warn the Light Game and the Dark Shadow to beware. The Puzzle is in danger. Revenge will be coming from the past. We have warned you.  
  
~Watchmen  
  
"So, what do you think it means?" Yami asked after a few seconds.  
  
"Honestly? We have no idea. We came straight to you because we thought it might have to do with you. I does mention a "Light Game" and a "Dark Shadow." Yugi's name means game and he's the hikari or light between the two of you and your name, Yami, means darkness or shadow and you're the yami or darkness between the two of you. It was just a guess, but rather be safe than sorry, right?" Jason said.  
  
Yugi nodded and they sat in silence for a moment. Then they heard the doorbell ring.  
  
"I'll get it," Selene said, standing up. They heard her walk to the front door and open it. Then they heard a man's voice coming from the door, though they couldn't make out what he was saying. But it was obvious that Selene did NOT like whoever was at the door because they clearly made out her answer.  
  
"Like hell I'll let you see him." She said. The person at the door said something to which Selene replied, "I don't give a shit what kind of damn paperwork you have you fucking bastard, I'm not letting you in to see him!"  
  
This time they could vaguely make out what the person said, "I have every right to see him, now let me past!" Yugi thought he recognized the voice, though he couldn't remember where, and it sent shivers up and down his spine.  
  
"Screw you!" came Selene reply, surprising them all. "There is no way in hell that I'd let a son of a bitching, fucking bastard like you into this house! Now, get your fucking ass off this property and go screw one of your whores why don't you!"  
  
"Let me past, or I'll make you!" the man at the door threatened, and rather stupidly at that. Anyone who knew Selene knew you never said anything like that to her face or behind her back.  
  
"I'd like to see you damn well try you shit face!" Selene said. Then there was a slap and a loud bang. They guessed that Selene had probably slapped the guy and slammed the door in his face.  
  
There was silence for a few seconds before Selene walked into the kitchen. To everyone's surprise, her face was ghost white, though anger still burned like fire in her emerald eyes. She walked back over to her seat, place her arms-folded-onto the table, and buried her face into them. They heard her muttering very original curses in several different languages before she seemed to calm down a little and stopped cursing.  
  
"Who was it?" Yugi asked, wondering what could've caused that kind of reaction from Selene.  
  
Selene looked up and said on sentence that seemed to make time freeze for all in that room. "It was your father, Yugi. He's come to take you back."  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please review and tell me. I'll try and get the next chapter out soon, but I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to write so it may take a while. I will try to get it out within the next week though.  
  
Thanks again to all those that reviewed. 


	3. Attack

Attack  
  
AN: I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner, but pretty much right after I published the last chapter we updated my computer's hard drive and I still can't find half the stuff I'd saved. And then I had a HUGE project due in Latin and finally I got sick last week and am just now starting to feel better. Plus some of the adults at the karate school have been a little tense and depressed because the founder of our school, Mr. Wheeler, may not live to see Thanksgiving. They say that it'll be a miracle if he sees Christmas. And all this is happening when my birthday is coming up on the 23rd of this month. As you can see my life has been a little messed up lately. The delay is he reason I made sure that this chapter was definitely longer than the others.  
  
Thank you to all those who reviewed. You have no idea how much all of you have helped me lately. These are those who reviewed:  
  
bast4  
  
Koishii No Tenshi  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
zeynel  
  
Rutu  
  
Dark-Fox  
  
Yana5  
  
AngelicMouseGirl  
  
joeyrules  
  
Well, I hope you enjoy this.  
  
Also-though I probably won't use most of it just yet-, just in case:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
Selene looked up and said one sentence that seemed to make time freeze for all in that room. "It was your father, Yugi. He's come to take you back."  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
~*~*~With Selene when she answers the door~*~*~  
  
Selene headed out of the kitchen wondering who would be visiting at noon on a Saturday. Any other day she could understand, but a Saturday. And it wouldn't be one of Yugi's friends, he would've mentioned it if it was.  
  
Shrugging off the questions Selene answered the door and was met with the sight of a man who was about the same height as Damien, maybe a little shorter, with graying blond hair and brown eyes standing at the door. Though she recognized him immediately she kept her instinctive reaction under a mask.  
  
"Hello, I'm here to see Yugi Mutou. I am Adam Mutou, his father." The man said with an air of such superiority that it made Selene want to slap him, though it was more so with his next words. "So if you step aside I'll let myself in."  
  
At this Selene made sure to place herself right in the center of the doorway and said, "Like hell I'll let you see him."  
  
The man frowned slightly and said, while showing her a piece of official looking paper, "I have every right to see him. Not only am I his father but I also have the papers that give me the legal right to seem him. Now move aside girl."  
  
Selene scowled and said, "I don't give a shit what kind of damn paperwork you have you fucking bastard, I'm not letting you in to seem him!"  
  
Comprehension suddenly dawned on the man's face, it seems he finally recognized her and this just took out the remainder of his already short patience with her. "I have every right to see him, now let me past!"  
  
Selene scowled even more before screaming, "Screw you! There is no way in hell that I'd let a son of a bitching, fucking bastard like you into this house! Now get your fucking ass off this property and go screw one of your whores why don't you!"  
  
Adam's face went scarlet in rage and he shouted in return, "Let me past, or I'll me you!"  
  
Selene just jumped at the challenge. "I'd like to see you damn well try you shit face!" she screamed.  
  
Adam took a step toward her and she gave into her urge to smack him, hard. It was hard enough that it left her own hand stinging slightly and caused the man in front of her to stumble back and fall on his ass. Taking the opportunity Selene slammed the door shut and locked it before leaning against the door to try and get her thoughts back under control. After a few moments she stood up and walked into the kitchen, knowing that she probably now looked like a ghost. She walked over to her seat, buried her head in her hands and started mumbling very creative curses in several of the different languages she'd studied, including Latin, Japanese, English (probably the best for this sort of thing), and Egyptian. Finally she managed to calm down all the way and stopped herself from emitting any more vile sentences. Then she heard Yugi's voice.  
  
"Who was it?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice. No doubt he was wondering who could deserve such a mouthing off from her.  
  
Selene looked up and said the one sentence that seemed capable of freezing time in the kitchen. "It was your father, Yugi. He's come to take you back."  
  
The whole kitchen was silent as they all digested this disturbing news. Suddenly the silence was broken by Jason.  
  
"But he can't take Yugi back, can he? I mean, Yugi is already legally an adult, right?" he said hopefully.  
  
"Yes," Selene replied, "but, unless I'm very much mistaken, Yugi and Yami both go to college and your only income is from the Kame Game shop, right?" she directed this last part to Yugi and Yami who both nodded and she continued. "That, from what I can tell, means that his did, now that he's been ruled 'mentally stable' and 'safe', has the right to take you under his care." (AN: Just so you know, I'm not sure if this is an actual fact, but I need to use it for right now.)  
  
The kitchen lapsed into silence again, everyone lost in his or her own thoughts. Jake was the first to look up and, seeing how absorbed everyone was with his or her own thoughts, grinned as he thought of a way to 'jolt' them out of it. Innocently and inconspicuously he slid his hands slowly off the table and into his lap. After one more look around to make sure everyone was too busy with their thoughts, he brought his palms up to meet the bottom of the table with a very loud bang.  
  
The reaction was instantaneous, Selene, who had put her head back onto the table, shot upright in her seat. Jason and Derek both leapt out of their seats, searching for the source of the commotion. Damien, who had had his forehead in his hands with his elbows on the table, started and his head fell onto said table with a thump followed by curses as he rubbed his head. Yami and Yugi both jumped in their chairs, and Yugi, who'd been sitting on the edge of his seat, fell to the floor with a thump followed by curses similar to Damien's. Selene, the first to realize what had caused the commotion, lunged at Jake and knocked him out of his chair and into the floor. Everyone watched as Selene and Jake wrestled for a few minutes before Selene pulled off a complicated little move that ended with Jake chest-down on the floor with his left arm pinned under him and Selene straddling his back with his right arm twisted in a slightly painful looking position.  
  
"What the hell possessed you to do that?" Selene ground out, irritated.  
  
A mumbled and incoherent reply was heard because Selene still had Jake's face planted firmly in the floor with her hold on him. Selene sighed, exasperated, before letting him up so he could answer the question.  
  
Jake stood up before saying, "I said that I did it because everyone was too tense. I had to snap you out of it somehow. Would you rather have been hit by cold water?" Jake grinned 'innocently' at the last part only to cower when Selene practically growled at him in annoyance.  
  
Selene just replied, "Just don't do it again or else I'll make sure that you can no longer call yourself a man." Jake paled and moved quickly to try and hide behind Jason and Derek, both of whom just as quickly got out of the way. They had no wish to be on the receiving end of Selene's temper.  
  
Damien, resigned to be the peacemaker, walked behind Selene and wrapped his arms around her waist and said, "Well, at least Jake's plan worked." He felt Selene sigh again before relaxing against him.  
  
"Um," Yugi said, getting everyone's attention, "what do we do now?" He was feeling restless and really didn't want to sit around doing nothing at all.  
  
"I know the first thing we need to do," Selene said, gesturing to the other Venators and herself.  
  
"What?" Derek asked cautiously. He was slightly wary of the huge grin slowly spreading across her face, especially with the very mischievous twinkle creeping into her emerald green eyes.  
  
"We need to go to the mall. We cant' just continue bumming clothes as long as we're here." Selene said. All the guys gulped, Selene loved to find new outfits for everyone, and she somehow always managed to find them on sale or cheap AND convince the person it was for to buy it for themselves. "And tonight we can go clubbing. For once Jake's right. Everyone's too tense, we need something to distract us." They all grinned and Yugi, Jake, Jason, and Derek cheered at the last suggestion, it was a great idea, especially since they all loved to dance. With that they went off to get ready.  
  
"Hey Yugi!" Jason called as they got ready to leave, mainly putting the Ancient Egyptian spell book in a safe place to go over when they got home that night.  
  
"Yes?" Yugi said, turning from his chore of washing the breakfast/lunch dishes.  
  
"Are we going to invite any or your other friends?"  
  
"We can if the others are fine with it." Yugi replied.  
  
"I'll ask," Jason said before yelling to the others, "Hey guys!"  
  
"What?!" came Selene's voice from upstairs, evidently she was to be the one yelling for all of them.  
  
"What do you think about inviting some more of Yugi's and Yami's friends to join us?!" He yelled, louder than before, causing Yugi to wince slightly at the volume of his voice.  
  
There was a few moments silence before Selene replied, "Sure! That's fine with all of us!"  
  
"They said okay," Jason said to Yugi, the twinkle in his amber eyes ruining the innocent smile on his face.  
  
Yugi scowled at his and replied, "So I heard. Jake's a bad influence on you. I'll go call them now before you decide to blow out my eardrums again."  
  
As Yugi walked over to the phone he heard Jason chuckling and firmly resisted the temptation to imitate Selene's actions concerning Jake earlier. He quickly pick up the phone and dialed Seto's number knowing that Jo, or Katsuya Jonouchi, would probably be over there. The phone rang a couple of times before it was picked up and he heard Mokuba's voice.  
  
"~Kiaba residence, Mokuba speaking.~" Mokuba said.  
  
"Hey Mokuba," Yugi said, "its Yugi. Is your brother or Jo there? I need to speak to them."  
  
"~Oh, hey Yugi. Sure, I'll get them. Hang on just a second.~" Yugi faintly heard Yugi yelling for his brother-he guessed Seto was probably in a near by room-before another phone was picked up and this time Seto's voice was heard.  
  
"~Hey Yugi, what did you need?~" Seto asked. He had become decidedly less of a 'cold bastard', as many refer to him, after Battle City and even more so after Yugi returned which was shortly followed by his starting to date Jo.  
  
"Hey Seto, I was wondering if you and Jo would like to go to the mall this afternoon. You see, Selene and the other Venators are here and they suggested it. Jason also suggested I invite you all." Yugi said, knowing that Seto knew exactly whom he was talking about.  
  
"~Just a second, let me ask Katsuya.~" Seto said before turning to talk to someone on the other end. Then he came back on and said, "~Sure, we can pick you up in about half an hour. If you want I can call Anzu and Honda while you call Ryou, Bakura (they live together), Malik, and Marik (as do they).~"  
  
"Great, see you in about half an hour. Bye." Yugi said.  
  
"~See you Yugi.~" Seto replied before hanging up.  
  
Yugi then hung up the phone, turned it back on and called Ryou and Malik. They could all come, meaning that they now had 13 people in their group and would have 15 if Anzu and Honda could come.  
  
Ryou, Bakura, Malik, and Marik showed up about 20 minutes later, having been in the same place they just came over together. Ten minutes after that Seto showed up in his limo with only Jo, Anzu and Honda had had a date that afternoon with dinner that night so they couldn't make it. They all climbed in and headed off.  
  
When they got there Selene immediately dragged them over to s store called "Original". (AN: don't think it's a real store, I just made it up. Not very creative though) Evidently the store was having a big sale and Selene decided to take advantage of it. She immediately started sizing each of them up and handing them clothes to try on. After at least an hour if not two or three and several sets of outfits, everyone ended up with at least two new outfits, though the Venators each got five as the only clothes they had were the ones they'd arrived in and what they bummed off of Yugi and Yami. After that they decided to split up and meet back at the food court at 4:30 (one and a half hours) so they could go to their respective houses and prepare to go dancing that night. (I'm not going to write this out in detail because I've no idea how to make it remotely interesting, so you can just use your own imaginations. Also, if anyone wants to write this they can tell me and I'll be happy to post the notice on this story so everyone who reads this'll know.)  
  
They all met at the food court as planned, though Malik, Marik, Ryou, Bakura, and Jake (who had met them later) were late. It seems that they- meaning Malik, Marik, Bakura, and Jake-had decided it would be fun to play a prank on one of the mall security officers. Evidently the officer didn't think so and had chased them over half the mall before losing them in an over-packed music store. After waiting for a few minutes after the officer left they had headed to the food court, only then noticing that they were already ten minutes late. They had arrived ten minutes later still laughing about the officer.  
  
Then they all headed out to the limo and Seto dropped them off, saying he would pick them all back up at 7 to go back out. The Venators all changed into one of their new outfits. Damien was wearing a pair of black jeans with a black cotton t-shirt that seemed to have a strange silver shimmer to it. Jake wore a pair of dark-blue blue jeans with a matching dark-blue sleeveless shirt. Jason was wearing a pair of loose leather pants and a gold colored t-shirt. Derek had on a pair of pants similar to Jason's though he was wearing a deep-scarlet colored shirt. Yugi had changed into a pair of white-leather pants and a silver sleeveless shirt and had gotten Yami into a pair of black-leather pants with a dark-violet colored shirt. Selene had gone upstairs and came down in a set of clothes she had, most definitely, bought after they'd separated as none of them had seen this in her original stack from the first store. She was wearing a pair of dark- blue leather hip-huggers with a form-fitting black shirt that ended a couple inches over her belly button, showing her firm abdomen, and had a picture of a silver full moon on the bosom with a black wolf imprinted on it. All of them were also wearing their normal accessories.  
  
When 7 rolled around they heard the limo pull up and Jo came to the door. He, like the others had decided to change into something else to go clubbing. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a jade green t-shirt. And Seto and somehow managed to get him to wear a spiked dog collar too. Jake, Jason, and Derek joined in with a laughing Malik, Marik, and Bakura upon seeing this.  
  
"Shut up," Jo growled as they all got into the car, which just sent them into another laughing fit. They, most evidently, thought it was funny that Jo, who was always being called a koinu (Japanese for puppy) by Seto, would actually wear a dog collar and then growled in irritation when they were laughing. Thankfully Seto told the driver to take off then, otherwise Jo might've just attacked all those laughing. They arrived at the club 15 minutes later and, after showing their id's to the bouncer, walked in. Though the club did serve alcohol they had no intention of having any. They just knew that this was the best place if you wanted to dance and have a good time.  
  
They found a large, round table a little apart from the dance floor and sat down. Then a new song came on and Selene and Yugi grinned at each other.  
  
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked him.  
  
"If you mean, it's time for a dance off then yes, I am." He replied before turning to the others and saying, "what about you guys?"  
  
Marik and Malik too grinned and stood up with Selene, Damien, Yugi, and Yami. The others would wait until later, when they weren't having a dance-off basically. The six of them quickly moved to the center of the floor and started dancing with their respective partners. They were so caught up in their dancing and personal competition that they didn't notice when the other dancers started to back off and watch them, nor did they notice when the music changed. They were all having too much fun. They finally noticed when the third song ended and they took a breather. Grinning, they headed back to their table to rest for a bit and order their drinks.  
  
When they sat down Selene noticed all the very unflattering looks she was getting from guys of all ages around the club-unflattering that is if you don't want to be looked at like a lion looks at a ripe piece of meat. Feeling a little uncomfortable she stood up and said, "I'm going to go outside for a minute. I can't rest in here. I'll be back in five minutes." As she said the second part she gestured with her hand to the surrounding crowd of people and, with one look, everyone knew what she meant and just nodded.  
  
When she got outside Selene took a deep breath and walked over to the edge of the wall, leaning against it. She stood there for a few minutes, getting her breath back, before deciding it was time to go back in. When she stood up straight to go, however, she suddenly felt someone grasp her shoulders and pull her into the alleyway beside which she had been standing.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please read and review and I'll try and update as soon as I can, though I can't promise exactly when that'll be. I also LOVE any suggestions sent my way. Thanks!  
  
Also, just in case you were curious, in just the story part, starting right after the note that told that it was with Selene when she opened the door to right before the TBC, there were 3005 words according to my word processor, though probably there's a different count on FF.Net. 


	4. Almost

Almost  
  
AN: I got some relief from schoolwork so I decided to write more on this. Hope you enjoy it!  
  
Thank you to all those that reviewed. I enjoy reading your opinions and suggestions. Thanks to:  
  
Rutu  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Also-though I probably won't use most of it just yet-, just in case:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
Finally, I'm sorry if any of the character seem OOC but I believe that everyone has more than one side to them and what we may see of them on the TV show may not be what they're totally like. And almost anyone can change if given the chance.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
When she got outside Selene took a deep breath and walked over to the edge of the wall, leaning against it. She stood there for a few minutes, getting her breath back, before deciding it was time to go back in. When she stood up straight to go, however, she suddenly felt someone grasp her shoulders and pull her into the alleyway beside which she had been standing.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Ten minutes after Selene left Damien started to get a little restless. Five minutes late may not be much for most people, but Selene was NEVER late unless something happened to her. Glancing around the table he stood up.  
  
"I'm going to see what's keeping Selene," Damien said to Yugi and Yami, the others had gone dancing.  
  
After looking at his watch, Yugi got a worried look on his face, nodded, and said, "I'll come with you. We'll be back in just a minute." He directed the last part to Yami who just nodded, he understood Yugi's protectiveness towards his friends and most of his family.  
  
Yugi and Damien went outside, but they didn't see anyone but the bouncer and a few loiterers. They turned left and were about to head off, but Yugi paused.  
  
"Damien, just a second," Yugi said and Damien paused.  
  
"What is it Yugi?" Damien asked, looking anxious.  
  
"Don't ask me why, but I have this feeling that we should go the other way." Yugi said looking slightly confused at his own words.  
  
Damien looked reluctant for a moment before nodding and turning around. He knew that when Yugi, Selene, or-surprisingly-Jake got a gut feeling it was usually correct, they were the most sensitive of the group. They were about to pass an alleyway when they heard muffled thumps and noises. With one shared glance they both headed down the alley. It might be nothing, but they couldn't take any chances.  
  
They ran down the alley. After a few moments they came to the end, which opened up into an open are in between three buildings, and in the opening they saw a beat-up looking Selene holding off five guys with knives and they saw another five unconscious on the floor. She had a nasty looking gash on the outside of her lower left arm and a couple minor scratches and a largish bruise on her stomach. She'd also managed to get the knives off of the five she'd taken down and was holding one in her right hand and had the others in her pockets.  
  
Suddenly one of the men spoke. "Come on girl, just give us the necklace and come quietly. We don't have to hurt you."  
  
"Go screw yourselves," Selene hissed, scowling. "I'll never go with fucking bastards like you."  
  
Suddenly one of the men rushed at her, and she twisted out of the way, barely missing getting cut. This snapped Yugi and Damien out of their temporary shock and they silently ran to help her. They were careful, though, because it was obvious that these guys had at least been trained a little bit.  
  
Selene, having seen them, made sure she kept the back of her opponents to them. This allowed Yugi and Damien to creep up on them, unnoticed, and knock two of them out by ramming them in the back of the head. Selene took the moment it took for the other three t get over their shock to kick and, in the process, break the knees of one of the other two. Yugi and Damien tackled the other two. They wrestled around for a moment when Yugi copied the move Selene had used on Jake, only he actually broke the arm of the guy and then dropped his arm onto the back of the neck of the guy under him, effectively knocking him unconscious. Damien had managed to throw the guy over his shoulder and jammed his heel into the other guy's groin. Then he pulled his leg back and kicked him under the chin, finishing the fight.  
  
"Thanks you guys," Selene panted from her current position on the floor where she'd collapsed after she'd knocked out her sixth guy. Yugi was suddenly reminded of how out of it Selene and Damien had been the previous night, and, by the looks of it, both of them were feeling it too. Despite how fast they healed, they couldn't be 100 percent yet.  
  
"Are you okay, Neko?" Yugi asked. Selene nodded and tried to stand up. She managed to do so with the help of the wall behind her, but the second she let go she fell forward and was caught by Damien. She winced slightly when he wrapped his arms around her waist and put pressure on her bruise.  
  
Damien quickly turned to Yugi and said, "Yugi go inside and get the others. I'll wait at the limo. Tell them to hurry. We need to get out of here now, who knows how many others this group had and if they saw them with us they might be in danger too."  
  
Yugi nodded and headed off to do as Damien had said. When he got back inside he saw that Ryou and Bakura had joined Yami at the table. He quickly rushed over to them and said, "Guys, we have to leave now. Something happened and Damien's waiting at the car with Selene. Can you help me round up the others? I promised I'll explain everything once we get out of here."  
  
Yami, looking confused and concerned, nodded and headed off. Yugi turned to the other two and said, "Will you two go out to the car that way we'll all end up in the same place." Ryou nodded and grabbed Bakura's arm, dragging him outside.  
  
Yugi set off to join Yami in his hunt. When he found him he was talking to Seto and Jo who had both just nodded and headed off. Yugi walked up to him and used the link so they could hear each other without having to shout /Have you found Malik, Marik, Jason, Jake, or Derek yet?/  
  
//I've found Jason, Jake, and Derek but not Malik and Marik. If we split up we can contact the other if we find them.// Yami replied and Yugi nodded. They both headed off in different directions to try and find the two missing Egyptians.  
  
Yugi was the first to find them. They had headed back over to the table that they'd been sitting at. Yugi contacted Yami and said /I found them. You head out to the limo and I'll be out with them in a minute./  
  
//Okay Hikari. Watch yourself, I don't know what happened yet but I know that if your worried it's with good reason.// and with that Yami shut off the link and Yugi headed over to the table he'd been sitting at not 20 minutes ago.  
  
"Hey Yugi, what's wrong?" Malik asked, having been the first of the two to spot him.  
  
"We need to leave now. The others are already at the car, they're just waiting for us." Yugi said.  
  
"Why do we need to leave, what happened?" Malik asked, concerned. He had grown closer to the group after the Battle City incident. And recently he'd been able to move to Domino with his sister Ishizu. He and, almost surprisingly, Marik and made friends with the Venators. They weren't sure what it was, but the group just seemed to get their attention. It was probably the random visits at almost anytime. (AN: Out of the YGO crew only Yami and Yugi currently know exactly what the Venators are, the others just think that they're a strange and friendly group of people that Yugi's made friends with.)  
  
"I'll explain everything when we're away from here now c'mon." Yugi said and grabbed the arms of the two blondes and dragged them out of the chairs. Then he let go and they followed him out to the car.  
  
The sight that met them was a strange one. Damien was half- supporting Selene with Jason looking at the bruise on her side and the now bandaged gash on her arm. Jake was currently trying to deal with a very worried Ryou and Jo with Bakura being no help what so ever and Derek was trying to convince Seto not to call an ambulance or drive them to the hospital right away. By the looks of things Seto was being very stubborn and the worries of the others were only adding to his case. Yugi stepped up to stop Derek forcefully taking the cell phone out of Seto's grasp.  
  
"Yugi, finally. Will you tell your friends that we need to get Selene to the hospital now." Seto said when he caught sight of the tri- haired teen.  
  
"Actually, first we need to get to my house. I promise we'll explain everything there. There is a reason we can't go to the hospital and you'll understand it very soon." Everyone except Yami and the Venators looked shocked. They'd expected him to side with Seto and them to try and convince the others to take Selene to a hospital. Seto was about to argue some more, but, seeing to determined and stubborn look in Yugi's eyes, he knew it would be futile so he closed his cell phone and put it in one of his jean pockets. He opened the door and Damien helped Selene in before getting in himself, shortly followed by Jason, Jake, and Derek. Seto, Jo, Yugi, and Yami took the row in front of them and Marik, Malik, Ryou, and Bakura got into the one behind. Seto told the driver where to head and soon they were on their way.  
  
After another tense 15 minutes they arrived at the Game Shop and everyone got out, Damien helping Selene, and Yugi unlocked the doors and let everyone in. After relocking the door he headed to the bathroom and came out with the first aid kit, knowing that they'd need it by the looks of things.  
  
With a grateful look at Yugi, Jason took the kit and set about the task of cleaning and bandaging Selene's arm. When he looked at the bruise again he said, "I need an ice pack to reduce the swelling as much as possible."  
  
"Is it very bad?" Yugi asked. If he'd actually had a close look he might've been able to tell, but he hadn't yet so he had to rely on others.  
  
"It's not bad at all. It's fractured at the worst, but it's probably only bruised. Don't worry." Selene said before Jason, in her opinion, could make things any worse. She knew her body better than others and could usually tell the extent of her own injuries.  
  
"All the same, I'd like to reduce the swelling as much as possible." Damien said and Selene sighed, knowing that she was outnumbered. Well, at least they hadn't taken her to the hospital.  
  
Yami had gone into the kitchen when Jason had first asked and now came back in with an ice pack wrapped in a towel. Jason took it with a grateful nod and used some bandages to strap it to Selene's side. She winced slightly but said nothing. Finally everybody settled down and silence fell over the group.  
  
"So," Ryou said, finally breaking the silence, "would you mind explaining what happened over at the club and why we couldn't take Selene to the hospital?"  
  
The others, who didn't already know, nodded in agreement and Yugi sighed, knowing he'd have to explain otherwise they'd never let it rest.  
  
"Okay then, but where should I start?" he said.  
  
Jake then said, "It would probably be best to start at the VERY beginning that way they all know exactly what's going on."  
  
Yugi nodded and turned to the rest saying, "You all know the basic gist of how Selene and I met, right?" after receiving nods all around he continued, "Well, then I should start about ten years ago, when Selene ran away from her home. Selene do you want to tell this part or should I?"  
  
"I'll tell, it is my story after all." Selene said and fell silent for a moment before saying, "To understand why I ran away and made the choices I did and didn't then first you'd have to understand my past. As you know I lived in Saika City with Yugi. What you didn't know was that my home life was as bad as his. My father was a drunk, and a violent one at that. He had been since my mother died giving birth to me, probably because she knew she probably would die and hadn't told him. Anyway, up until the time I could walk the only thing that happened was that I was ignored. When I could walk I was forced to do all the chores around the pigsty we called a house under threat of a severe beating, and sometimes he'd just beat me for the heck of it.  
  
"Well, as you know I helped Yugi escape to his grandpa and one year after that I ran away. I had very little money and nowhere to go, but I had to escape. Fortunately for me I ran into someone who could help me. Evidently she seen me and recognized my talent. She confronted my and for reasons I even now don't understand I actually listened. She told me that she was a member of a group called the Venators and that they were looking for people to join and help them. I agreed and that's how I met Damien, Jake, Jason, and Derek, they arrived two years after I did. It's also thanks to that group that I saw Yugi again three years ago."  
  
Everyone, even those who didn't now what it was, noticed that she left out a big part of the story but decided not to ask just yet. Then Marik asked the question they were all thinking. "Just what are the Venators?"  
  
Derek sighed and took his turn to talk. "The Venators are..." he paused before continuing, "well, there really isn't a nice way to put this so I'll just say that the Venators are what you'd call thieves. Though we're not your common type of thieves. We work with other teams of people and we steal back what has been illegally or unfairly taken and give back to its original or rightful owners. In general we're what you'd call a modern-day Robin Hood."  
  
"Three years ago they'd come here on a vacation that they'd received. You know what happened during that time, but what you didn't know was that when I left with them I also joined them and helped them on their missions. It was that that brought us back to Domino again a year ago. We had been ordered to steal back the Starlight Gem. We eventually managed to but by that time I had made my decision to stay here and you all know the rest." Yugi said. He particularly liked the looks on everyone's faces when he mentioned that he, too, had been a thief. He wished he had a camera.  
  
Jake finished them up by saying, "And since then we've visited whenever we could, and even tried to get more missions that were around this area."  
  
"So, the reason you can't go to the hospital is because you don't have any medical records and could get asked some awkward questions, am I right?" Seto said and Selene nodded. "But that still doesn't explain exactly what happened to you in the first place."  
  
"Well," Yugi said, "it might've been a normal mugging, but they weren't only asking for your necklace, they also wanted you to come with them."  
  
Selene shook her head and said, "No, it wasn't. Those guys that attacked me were trained and pretty well at that. But I still don't understand why they wanted my necklace in particular, all I knew was that I couldn't give it to them. Not only is it precious to me, but it was also just a strange feeling that something bad would happen if I did."  
  
"Could it possibly have something to do with the book?" Damien asked from behind her.  
  
"Book?" Jo asked.  
  
"It has to do with the mission we have. We had to steal back an Ancient Egyptian spell book and managed to but we've been a target for some strange force since then. We also received a note which is why we came here in the first place." Jason said, seeing the question in everyone else's eyes too.  
  
"I'll go get the book and the note," Jake said before walking upstairs. He came down a second later carrying a heavy, old looking book in his arms with a piece of notebook paper on top. He laid it down and for the first time everyone got a really good look at the cover.  
  
It seemed to be made of solid gold and had the eye of Horus stamped onto the cover. There was also a design of different shapes around the edges that weren't hieroglyphics. Yugi reached down to try and pry the cover open only to find that he couldn't budge it.  
  
"We've already tried that. It won't open and there's only one lock. But we couldn't find any key what so ever, nor a key hole." Damien said.  
  
Yugi sighed and studied the cover. For some reason his eyes kept straying to one of the crescent moon shapes on the outer edge. Something about it seemed familiar, but where had he seen the design engraved into the shaped before. Suddenly something clicked. He turned to Selene and said, "Hey, Selene, where did you get that necklace?"  
  
Selene looked startled at his sudden question but answered all the same. "I got it when I visited by mom's mom it Cairo soon after I ran away from home. My grandma gave it to me, said it was my mom's. She'd planned to adopt me herself, but she died of heart failure not long after." She said. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Yugi.  
  
Selene stood up, took off her chocker and took the pendent off the leather chord. Everyone watched as she handed it to Yugi who put it into the shape he'd been staring at earlier. It was a perfect fit. The lock clicked and slowly he opened the book.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please read and review, I appreciate any and all comments, criticisms, and suggestions. Thanks! 


	5. Again

Again  
  
AN: I'm sorry if it seems that I'm righting down my problems in my AN's but this is one of the few places I have to write it down. If you don't want to read it you don't have to. I'll put a '*' at the beginning and end of each so you don't have to, just skip to the second one.  
  
*Okay, I'm rather depressed right now. I had party planned this weekend and invited five people and so far, one has said they could, one won't 'cause their parents don't celebrate birthdays, one's parents won't answer, one is sick and probably can't come, and one's parents won't let her because she doesn't have a gift. The last one just pissed me off and got me really depressed because the only thing I want is to have my friends spend the night on my 15th birthday, it's not really what you'd call a party. And that is the update of my messed up life.*  
  
Now, thank you to all those that managed to review since I last updated:  
  
Yana5  
  
Also-though I probably won't use most of it just yet-, just in case:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
Selene looked startled at his sudden question but answered all the same. "I got it when I visited by mom's mom it Cairo soon after I ran away from home. My grandma gave it to me, said it was my mom's. She'd planned to adopt me herself, but she died of heart failure not long after." She said. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Yugi.  
  
Selene stood up, took off her chocker and took the pendent off the leather chord. Everyone watched as she handed it to Yugi who put it into the shape he'd been staring at earlier. It was a perfect fit. The lock clicked and slowly he opened the book.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
The first things they saw when they opened the book was two pictures on the front page.  
  
"It's the Dark Magician," Yugi said, "he's probably one of the guardians of the book, but I don't recognize the second. It looks like a purple-haired faerie with six wings."  
  
"It's the Wingweaver," Selene stated plainly and everyone looked at her strangely. "What? I may not play the game as much as you all, but I do know quite a few of the cards and what they do."  
  
"What's so special about her? Why'd they choose her to help guard the book?" Bakura asked, curious despite himself, probably because it was usually only the Dark Magician guarding the artifacts like this.  
  
"She's stronger than the Dark Magician. She has an attack power of 2750 and defense of 2400. She's also a light type meaning that any magic card someone uses that would power one up would probably weaken the other. A good thing if the other person only expects and prepares for one type or two very closely related types." Selene answered him. It made sense too, counter one's weakness by having it the other's strength.  
  
"I wonder why they're here, though, and not on the front cover." Derek said, bringing this to everyone's attention.  
  
"It's probably incase just anyone happens upon the book and key and opens the book, they can't use it because the guardians would stop them. It would save us a lot of disasters caused by careless fools." Yami said.  
  
"What would happen if just anyone tried to open it past the first page?" Jake asked, eyeing the book warily. He and the others had seen and heard about enough strange and dangerous things to be rightfully scared of what could happen.  
  
"Who knows, if they're supposed probably nothing will happen." Malik said, having lived among tomb keepers all of his life-however unwillingly- he'd learned about these types of things.  
  
Jo gulped and said, "And if they're not?"  
  
No one liked the grin on Marik's face as he prepared to answer the question, undoubtedly with very excruciating and gruesome detail, but luckily Malik cut off saying, "Well, a variety of things could happen. It could be anything from the page just refusing to move to a mild shock to a very painful and gruesome death."  
  
"And how do we know who'll be able to open it safely?" Seto asked, almost afraid of the answer.  
  
It was Bakura who answered this time. "It'll most likely be the masters of these two monster. We know who commands the Dark Magician," here he shot a look at Yami and Yugi, "but gods only knows who commands the Wingweaver. Probably only her master or mistress could call her off if she attacked."  
  
"Damn, this thing is a heck of a lot more trouble than we first thought." Damien said and the other Venators nodded in agreement.  
  
They sat in silence for a while before Yugi looked at the clock. It was nearly one, they'd been talking longer than they thought. He sighed and stood up and said, "Well, there's not much more we can do tonight. We might as well get a good night's sleep and figure everything out in the morning." After he said this he closed the book and took out the key and handed it to Selene who took it and pocketed it.  
  
The others nodded in agreement, but there was another problem. "Where are we going to stay, it seems a little late to try and go back home now." Malik said, mentally wincing as he imagined his sister's reaction to him having spent the whole night out without telling her first. She was not going to be a happy camper tomorrow.  
  
"You all can stay here. We have two guest rooms, the living room, my room, Yami's room, and grandpa's room. Yami and I can sleep in grandpa's room tonight since he's still out on his dig. Selene and Damien can take my room while Jason, Jake, and Derek take Yami's. The rest of you can decide who sleeps in the guest bed rooms and who sleeps in the living room by yourselves." Yugi said.  
  
They all nodded and Yugi, Yami, and the Venators headed upstairs.  
  
"Hey Yugi," Selene said just as he was about to head into his grandpa's room, "can I talk to you for a moment, alone." Yugi looked confused but, with one look at Yami, followed her anyway. She lead him back downstairs and outside before turning to him and saying, "I want you to hold onto this." And she dropped her moon pendant into his hands. He gazed at in shock for a moment before speaking.  
  
"But Selene, isn't this your mother's. Why are you asking me to hold it?" Yugi asked, now more confused than before and trying to hand it back.  
  
"I have a replica that I can wear. If those guys were after the pendant because it was a key then they're bound to come again. The replica isn't a perfect copy, but to anyone who wasn't looking carefully it would seem to be the original. That way if they do manage to get it or me, at least they won't have the key too." Selene said and pulled the replica out of her pocket, strung it on the chocker, and put it on instead.  
  
Yugi sighed, knowing just how stubborn she could be, and put the pendant in his pocket, planning to keep it on him at all times so he would always know where it was. "But I wonder why they wanted you too. If they only wanted the key, couldn't they have just asked for that and be done with it. No offense, but what was the point of taking the owners necklace too." He said suddenly.  
  
"Probably bait to lure you there. If my guess is correct they probably knew you'd come to save me, despite my protests, and would do anything to do so. C'mon, let's go inside, it looks like it's going to rain soon." And with that they both headed in, Yugi locking the door behind them.  
  
Later on that night, Selene was sitting in Yugi's room alone, Damien was in the bathroom, when she heard the windows rattle. She dismissed it as the storm that had come up about a quarter of an hour before, but her gaze shot to it as she heard it rattle again. Maybe she was just being paranoid, but she could swear that she saw a shadow moving behind the blinds. She cursed under her breath, while blinds did do a good job of keeping you out of view from whatever was outside, it also had the distinct disadvantage of keeping whatever was outside out of your view too. Not good when you may need to know what was out there so you could defend yourself.  
  
. Silently she crept off of the bed and headed to the window, preparing herself for whatever was revealed to her when she looked. Then she heard the window start to creak open, and she finally knew for sure that it wasn't her imagination. With the stealth of her nickname's namesake, a cat, she brought her hand up and yanked on the blinder's cord. Whatever she had prepared herself for, it wasn't what she actually saw and she couldn't help the small scream that escaped her lips at the sight before her before everything went dark and she knew no more.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yugi and Yami had been lying in bed thinking about what had happened recently when they heard the scream. Quickly they jumped out of bed and, recognizing the voice as Selene's, headed to Yugi's room. When they got there they saw Damien, Jake, Jason, Derek, Malik, Marik, Seto, and Jo standing in the doorway with Ryou and Bakura quickly climbing the stairs. They managed to push their way through and the sight that greeted them froze them in place. The room was empty, the window was open, and there was no Selene in sight.  
  
Selene had been attacked again, and this time it had been successful.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: I know this is shorter than the other two but it also came out a lot quicker. Please read and review, I appreciate all comments, criticisms, and suggestions. Thanks!  
  
Also, I would like to credit this idea to Yugi Motou. Yugi had suggested I have Selene kidnapped and it worked so I don't want to take credit for the original idea. Thank you so much. 


	6. Reminders

Reminders  
  
AN: Thank you for all the reviews. I really enjoy reading what you all think of my work.  
  
Those who reviewed are:  
  
*Elizabeth*Marie*Rose*  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Rutu  
  
Also, on note to my other stories, I've had writer's block on those I haven't finished. I'm not ignoring any reviews or requests to finish them, it's just that I'm having difficulty doing so at the moment. I promise to try and write more whenever I can.  
  
Here are the yami/hikari communication symbols again-I actually used them this chapter.  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi and Yami had been lying in bed thinking about what had happened recently when they heard the scream. Quickly they jumped out of bed and, recognizing the voice as Selene's, headed to Yugi's room. When they got there they saw Damien, Jake, Jason, Derek, Malik, Marik, Seto, and Jo standing in the doorway with Ryou and Bakura quickly climbing the stairs. They managed to push their way through and the sight that greeted them froze them in place. The room was empty, the window was open, and there was no Selene in sight.  
  
Selene had been attacked again, and this time it had been successful.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi paled when he saw the room. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Selene had been kidnapped. He looked around to see the others reactions. By the looks on their faces, everyone was upset, though the Venators more so than the others, and if Jake, Jason, Derek, and-he guessed- he himself looked upset, Damien looked devastated. Though that was understandable considering what they were to each other.  
  
"But how did this happen?" Ryou asked, "I thought Damien was with her."  
  
They all looked at the devastated young man who said, "I had been, but I needed to use the bathroom. I'd wanted to get someone to watch her but she insisted she'd be fine. I never expected..." he trailed off on the last sentence, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
Yugi shook his head, this was all too much for one night, and if he was already getting a headache, he couldn't imagine how some of the others must be feeling.  
  
Suddenly Jason seemed to compose himself a little bit and said, "As much as I hate it, we'll have to put this off 'till tomorrow. It's very late and we're all exhausted, and if we don't get any sleep we won't be in any condition to help later."  
  
They all nodded and headed off to bed.  
  
The next morning everyone was gathered in the living room again, the Venators, especially Damien, looking as if they hadn't gotten much rest the previous night.  
  
Malik and called, and gotten yelled at by, his sister and Seto had called Mokuba. Jo hadn't called, knowing his father probably wouldn't care, and neither had Ryou, his father was on another dig.  
  
Suddenly the silence was broken by Jake's exclamation of "Oh shit! We forgot about something!" And everyone jumped, Marik and Bakura then looking ready to murder someone.  
  
\Calm down.\ Ryou said to his yami before turning his attention back to Jake.  
  
\\Don't worry. I won't kill him...yet.\\ Bakura replied.  
  
Meanwhile Malik was talking to his yami. ^Yami...^ he said in a warning tone, having seen the murderous glint in Marik's eyes.  
  
^^What?^^ Marik asked in an innocent tone that wouldn't have fooled anyone.  
  
^Don't hurt him.^ Malik stated bluntly.  
  
^^Please!^^ Marik said in a pleading tone.  
  
^No. I'd rather not see what Yugi and the other Venators would do to you if you did.^ Malik said.  
  
^^...^^ Marik had no reply to that.  
  
^Exactly.^ Malik said before closing the link and saying aloud, "What is it?"  
  
"The reason they wanted Selene in the first place. They wanted the key, and now they have it." Jake said, looking slightly nervous at the glares the Marik had been sending him.  
  
"So," Seto said, "we still have the book so the key is useless."  
  
"It means," Jason said, catching on, "that next they'll probably go after the book and, more importantly, Yugi and/or Yami. They'll need all the keys to open the book too, meaning someone else is in danger."  
  
Then Yugi said, "But they don't have it."  
  
"What do you mean Yugi?" Yami asked, confused as to what his hikari meant.  
  
Yugi just closed his eyes, shook his head, and said, "They don't have the key. Selene didn't have it, she gave it to me to keep it safe. I have it." He reached into his pocket from which he pulled out the necklace. Yugi then explained, "She had a nearly identical copy made. She gave me this last night and wore the copy. She guessed they were coming and made sure that they didn't get the key."  
  
"Damn, so they took her for no reason. For all we know they could've killed her by now!" Damien said, looking frustrated beyond all belief.  
  
"No, they wouldn't have killed her yet." Yugi said, trying to reassure the very worried, obsidian haired young man on the chair.  
  
"Why's that?" Ryou asked, knowing Yugi would have a reason for saying that.  
  
"A hostage," Marik said and everyone turned to him so he explained. "If they need Yugi or Yami then the best way to get them would be to make it where they had one of their friends and made them trade their freedom for their friend's."  
  
^And you would know this how?^ Malik asked, shooting a suspicious look at his yami.  
  
^^Not telling!^^ Marik said in a singsong voice before closing the link.  
  
"Exactly," Yugi said ruefully. "She told me last night when she gave me the necklace. That's why I agreed to take it."  
  
Jo looked like he was about to say something when the doorbell rang. Everyone looked at each other for a second before Yugi and Yami stood up and Yugi said, "We'll get it."  
  
They walked to the front door and, Yugi not liking the feeling he was getting, opened the door to reveal a blond haired, fortyish looking man standing in the doorway. Yugi froze.  
  
//Yugi, what is it?// Yami asked mentally, feeling his hikari's fear start to filter through the link.  
  
/It's my father./ Yugi replied and Yami froze too. It seemed they had more than just one problem on their hands.  
  
~*~*~With Selene~*~*~  
  
Selene woke with a pounding headache and an uneasy feeling. Instinctively knowing that she wasn't where she was supposed to be, she opened her eyes and slowly sat up. For a moment she was confused as to where she was before she remembered the previous night's events.  
  
'Well, I was right. At least I gave the necklace to Yugi.' She thought before standing up. Immediately she felt a strange weight on the top of her clothing and, glancing down, she barely stifled a shudder of revulsion then a groan of annoyance. It seems someone had changed her clothes while she was unconscious, hence the shudder. She was now wearing a long, tan, off the shoulders dress with flare sleeves that hugged her upper body to her waist at which point it loosened and flowed around her legs, reaching the floor, with the hem around the sleeves, neckline, and bottom having a two inch border that was dark blue with silver swirls, and the same person had let her amber hair down before tying it a couple inches below the end and put slip-on shoes on her before adorning her wrists with thin, silver and gold bracelets, hence the groan. She hated this type of outfit because if she had to fight, she'd be screwed.  
  
She looked around the room and saw that it had a bed, a chair, and a small separate room that seemed to be a windowless bathroom. To say the least, it was sparsely furnished. Evidently someone here knew her reputation and really wanted to keep her here.  
  
She straightened and turned around when she heard the door open. Her eyes turned to ice when she saw the person beyond the door, remembering the last encounter with him. The young man looked to be about her age and had short, bleach-blonde hair and sharp ice-blue eyes. The man was Akuma.  
  
~*~*~Somewhere unknown~*~*~  
  
"Have we got the Key?"  
  
"Yes sir. We got it on the last attempt."  
  
"Very good, and how is the girl?"  
  
"She just woke up sir. Akuma is with her now, just as you allowed."  
  
"Good, has the next stage been set then?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Excellent, we will have the final pieces to the puzzle soon. You are dismissed."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please read and review. I appreciate all comments, criticisms, and suggestions. 


	7. Clues

Clues  
  
AN: Sorry I didn't update sooner. I had company over this weekend and two of the guests took over my room so I hardly had any time to write on my computer. Otherwise there would've been more than one chapter over the Thanksgiving holidays.  
  
Also, Happy Thanksgiving all! I know it's a little late, but better late then never, right?  
  
Thank you to all those that reviewed:  
  
Yana5  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa  
  
Nekostar 2  
  
Rutu  
  
bast4  
  
AngelicMouseGirl  
  
zeynel  
  
Thank you, all of you. I appreciate all of you so much.  
  
Here are the symbols, though I didn't use them, mainly a reminder.  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
They walked to the front door and, Yugi not liking the feeling he was getting, opened the door to reveal a blond haired, fortyish looking man standing in the doorway. Yugi froze.  
  
//Yugi, what is it?// Yami asked mentally, feeling his hikari's fear start to filter through the link.  
  
/It's my father./ Yugi replied and Yami froze too. It seemed they had more than just one problem on their hands.  
  
~*~*~Selene~*~*~  
  
She straightened and turned around when she heard the door open. Her eyes turned to ice when she saw the person beyond the door, remembering the last encounter with him. The young man looked to be about her age and had short, bleach-blonde hair and sharp ice-blue eyes. The man was Akuma.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
'How can he be here? I know Selene said he was in town, but I didn't expect his to be back here so soon. Oh shit this isn't good.' Yugi's thoughts were racing as he stood looking at his abuser of many years.  
  
"Hello Yugi," Adam Mutou said, breaking into his son's thoughts. "Good to see you again and not that retched girl." Currently he wasn't paying any attention to Yami, who stood behind Yugi, glaring intensely.  
  
Coming out of his thoughts, Yugi's eyes hardened into the coldest glare Yami had ever seen on his hikari and suppressed a shiver despite the fact that it wasn't aimed at him. He'd seen Yugi glare, even been on the receiving end before, but it was nothing compared to this. He could see anger first and foremost and strangely, pity, but he saw no hatred. He also didn't see any of the fear he felt as clear as day through their shared link.  
  
"What do you want?" Yugi asked, voice emotionless.  
  
"I think you know what I'm here for. After all, you don't seem completely surprised by my presence, meaning the bitch told you I was here." Adam said, smirking slightly.  
  
"He's not going," Yami said, scowling fiercely at the man in front of him.  
  
Adam's eyes turned to Yami for the first time and, smirk now full- blown, said, "Ah Yugi, found one have you? Well anyway, I'm afraid he doesn't have a choice. You see, I've obtained legal custody of him until he can support himself, neither he nor you, whoever you are, have any say in this matter."  
  
"Not to copy Selene, but screw you. I don't care what anyone says, I'm not coming with you." Yugi said coldly, obviously surprising Adam who'd- by the looks of things-expected the same timid, soft-spoken boy he used to beat. Both Yugi and Yami felt a strange sort of pride at this. Unfortunately Adam gathered himself rather quickly.  
  
"Well, fortunately, you have no say in this. So I suggest you pack any clothes, puzzles, or books you want because you're due to come with me in one week." Adam said before turning around and walking back to his car.  
  
Yugi, yet again, froze, though this time at his father's words. He felt that there was something more behind the statement. Suddenly Yami closed the door, snapping Yugi out of his thoughts. Yami led them both to the living room where the others immediately asked what'd happened.  
  
"It was Yugi's father," Yami said, "he came to take Yugi back. He somehow got legal permission and will try and take him back in one week."  
  
There was a pause before Jake said, in a slightly creepy voice, "Seven days." When the others looked at him strangely he said, "Sorry, couldn't help the little insert from 'The Ring.' It just fit so perfectly." Everyone, except Yugi, just shook their heads, though they silently agreed with him. *  
  
Yugi, meanwhile, was pondering his father's words. ' 'So I suggest you pack any clothes, puzzles, or books you want...' Why does it seem like it's more significant than it appears at first thought.' Yugi thought. He replayed those few seconds in his mind a few times before something clicked and he shot straight up from his previously hunched position, getting everyone's attention in the process.  
  
"What is it Yugi," Malik asked, curious.  
  
"I just figured out something. My father, he knows where Selene is." Yugi said  
  
"What, but where did you get that?" Jo asked.  
  
"It was something he said. For some reason, it seemed more significant than it was played off to be. He said to bring any clothes, PUZZLES, or BOOKS I wanted with me." Yugi said and saw comprehension dawn in the Venators' eyes.  
  
"But couldn't that just be random things he chose to mention?" Ryou asked.  
  
"It could," Jason said, "but we've learned that when Yugi, Selene, or Jake get a hunch about something, it's usually right. And there's also the fact that unless he's been stalking Yugi since he was taken out of his custody, impossible I might add as he's been locked up in a mental facility until recently, he wouldn't have known about Yugi liking puzzles and books as he never let him have anything. And if you think about it, liking to read isn't exactly a common trait among our peers."  
  
The others nodded in agreement with that statement. Then they turned back to the most pressing problem.  
  
"Well, we have a week to deal with that, but we still need to find Selene. How do we go about doing that?" Jake said.  
  
"We could track down Yugi's father and get the information from him," Bakura said and Marik nodded in agreement.  
  
"One problem with that," Jason said, "if he does know where Selene is then the place he works for would've most certainly made it where we couldn't find his house listed anywhere or just find wrong addresses."  
  
"Well, maybe the people who wrote the note could help." Jake said and Derek turned exasperated eyes to him.  
  
"Problem being that we have no idea how to contact these people, even if we we're sure that they weren't enemies." Damien pointed out.  
  
"Well, we could see if there is anything in Egyptian history about a group called 'Watchmen.' After all, how many random groups go around knowing how to write in ancient Egyptian, much less have the ability to be able to write something in one language to where it translates into another dead language so the person or machine has to know both to be able to translate. The fact that they mentioned the Puzzle directly and Yami and Yugi indirectly helped too." Jake said, explaining his reasoning.  
  
"That makes sense," Yugi thought before turning to Malik. "Do you think your sister could help us?"  
  
Malik frowned before saying, "She might be able to. If you want we could go and ask her ourselves."  
  
The others nodded and stood up, preparing to try and find another piece of the rapidly growing puzzle.  
  
~*~*~Selene~*~*~  
  
She glared at the young man in front of her who just smirked.  
  
"Hello Selene," he said and she just scowled at him, not dignifying him with an answer. "Surprised to see me aren't you. I admit, I never expected to find myself working for a company like this, but they help me get what I want."  
  
Selene smirked and this time replied, "It's more like I expect better out of people like them. Who would've guessed that they'd lower themselves low enough to work with the likes of you." She was secretly pleased at the angry flush that spread across Akuma's cheeks before he could push it down a second later. Then he smirked.  
  
Suddenly Akuma pulled out a filter mask, confusing Selene with his actions. They were explained a moment later as a strange orange smoke suddenly spewed out of a previously unnoticed, very small vent. She immediately started to try and hold her breath, though she already knew it was a futile effort. After a while she couldn't hold it anymore and had to breathe. The moment she did she felt her limbs start to become numb, as if she was losing control of her body.  
  
Akuma smirked as he watched the gas take effect, recalling the exact words of his new boss when he'd asked how far he was allowed to go. There were, 'As far as you want as long as you don't kill her. All we need is for you to make sure that her fighting spirit is gone.'  
  
Selene collapsed as she lost the last of the feeling in her body. After a few seconds she saw the smoke disappear and then heard Akuma's voice. "That's a marvelous little innovation isn't it? It renders the mind completely locked away, while still aware. You can see, hear, and feel everything that happens around you, but the only things you can do, or more specifically your body can do, is react to outside stimuli and obey commands. Stand up."  
  
To her horror she felt her body, against her will, start to respond and stand up. She really wanted to growl when she saw the triumphant look on Akuma's face. But, more than anything, his next command terrified her because she knew what he was going to do.  
  
"Take off your dress." Akuma said, watching as her eyes flashed with horror before her hands reached up and slowly slid the dress off her body. Akuma grinned perversely when he saw what he'd been dreaming about since he'd first seen her. She still had on a pair of underwear, but the person who had put the dress on her had chosen not to leave on her bra, and he loved the sight. She was perfectly formed in everyway.  
  
"Lie on the bed," he said and she did so.  
  
Selene never wanted to kill someone more than she did now. She knew exactly what was coming and was dreading every minute of it.  
  
Akuma slowly walked up to her, shedding his clothes along the way. He lowered himself onto her and smirked.  
  
~The next part is too graphic to show if I want to keep this at PG-13, so if you wish to read it just send ask me and I'll send you the unedited chapter. Also the cut part was written by one of my friends who wished to remain anonymous. On with the story.~  
  
He smirked when he saw the haunted look in her eyes. He now knew of her past and he knew this was the perfect way to break her fighting spirit. He got up and got dressed. He placed the discarded dress over her body before walking out of the room. He knew he could come back at any time.  
  
~*~*~Somewhere unknown~*~*~  
  
"Was stage two successful?"  
  
"Yes sir, everything went as planned. We should be ready within the next week if all continues as it is."  
  
"Good, keep me updated. You are dismissed."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: Please don't kill me for doing that to Selene. I needed that to happen for other things to happen later on. I'm so sorry!  
  
Please read and review.  
  
* Also, for those who don't know, 'The Ring' is a movie about an urban legend basically. Whoever watches this one tape will die in seven days. It's a horror film. I got Jake's like from the phone call anyone who watches the video gets. The voice on the other end says that because they have seven days to live and they way they die, or at least what we've seen of it, is very creepy. Just thought you'd like to know where that came from. 


	8. History

History  
  
AN: Sorry this took so long to get out. My finals are in two weeks and my teachers have been loading us up with all sorts of homework, we had a big project due today in Geometry, and Thursday for the next two weeks along with this week and Tuesday this week I have Demo Team in karate. Because of all the distractions, please don't expect very many updates over the next two to three weeks.  
  
Well, thanks for all those that reviewed. Those would be:  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
bast4  
  
Rutu  
  
Hey, I actually used a couple of them this chapter:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
Have fun reading.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"That makes sense," Yugi thought before turning to Malik. "Do you think your sister could help us?"  
  
Malik frowned before saying, "She might be able to. If you want we could go and ask her ourselves."  
  
The others nodded and stood up, preparing to try and find another piece of the rapidly growing puzzle.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
It was nearly one when the large group reached the museum. Malik and Marik went in first, shortly followed by the others. It didn't take long to find Isis because she was currently up front waiting for Malik and his yami. It seems the Millennium Tauk, given back to her by Yugi after Battle City, told her something was up.  
  
"Hey Isis," Yugi said from behind Malik.  
  
"Hello Yugi, Yami. I take it something has happened." Isis said calmly and everyone nodded.  
  
"Follow me to the back then," she said and led them all to a large, hidden backroom with chairs all around and everyone sat in their groups. When everyone had sat down Isis said, "So, what's going on?"  
  
"How much do you already know?" Seto asked, knowing she at least knew some of it.  
  
"I know," Isis replied, "that another ancient power is after the items, or more specifically, the Puzzle. An ancient enemy from Yami's time, part of his forgotten memories. All of it having to do with the power of the gods themselves."  
  
"We'll just fill you in on the details then," Jason said and told everything from their mission up to this day. "And that's about it," he concluded.  
  
"That explains a lot," Isis said cryptically before continuing, "what did you want to ask me about?'  
  
"We wanted to ask if you knew of the Vigilis, a.k.a. the Watchmen." Jake said.  
  
"I know of a lost legend involving a group called the Vigilis. They are said to be a group of 'watchers' who warn of world changing events that may come. The last time known time they appeared was in Yami's time, before the locking away of the Shadow Realm. The events were lost to time, only written in one book that was then sealed by the Pharaoh and High Priestess, guarded by their respective monsters along with a key to the cover disguised as a piece of jewelry that was then lost after the fall of the Shadow Realm." Isis said.  
  
"You mean this?" Jake asked, pulling the gold-covered book from a previously unnoticed backpack.  
  
"You brought that?" Bakura asked disbelievingly.  
  
"I wasn't about to leave it where they could get their hands on it. I'm not blind enough to believe that they couldn't get into the safe easily if they wanted to." Jake said, deadpanned.  
  
"Well Isis, is that is?" Ryou asked, cutting off his yami's retort.  
  
"Yes, that's it," Isis said, awed.  
  
"Other than lost history, what's so special about this book?" Seto asked.  
  
"In that book is contained a spell that could easily make or break a world. Break all barriers betweens worlds, change reality as we know it. It's the spell the Pharaoh and High Priestess were said to have used to stop the destruction or take-over of Earth. The whole spell along with the events leading up to it are contained in that book you hold." Isis said and Jake, still holding the book, blanched.  
  
"Damn, so we basically have the tool that could bring about the apocalypse or worse right here?" Marik asked, astonished.  
  
^Don't even think about it.^ Malik said and Marik pouted mentally.  
  
^^I won't, I won't. Don't worry.^^ Marik said sullenly.  
  
"Yes, but it could also bring about the opposite. It all depends on the will of the caster or the person controlling the caster." Isis said, unknowingly interrupting the two.  
  
"Is there anything else you can tell us Isis?" Jo asked.  
  
"Only that it is imperative you find the mistress of the Wingweaver before They do," Isis said simply.  
  
Suddenly Damien spoke for the first time. "Do you have any idea where we could find Them?" Everyone understood why he asked that, Selene.  
  
Isis smiled sadly and said, "Unfortunately I don't. I'm sorry." Damien just nodded.  
  
"Do you know anything else about the mistress of the Wingweaver that would help us find her?" Yami asked, curious about someone in his past life.  
  
"All I can tell you is a vague description passed down through the years. It is said that she was a beautiful woman with eyes as vivid as jewels and more powerful than most men, and few were her equals. And that's it." Isis said.  
  
They fell silent for a moment, contemplating the description, when suddenly Yugi's eyes widened and he looked like he was about to say something, but he was cut off by a knock at the door. Someone had found the backroom and was knocking to come in.  
  
Everyone went still then looked at the door before finally looking at each other. They were all silent for a moment before Yugi spoke.  
  
"I'll get it," he said and stood up. He walked over to the door. When he opened it everyone say a young man, who looked about Yugi's age, with longish blond-brown natural mis hair, pulled into a small pony-tail at the base of his neck, with sunglasses covering his eyes and was wearing leather pants, black leather boots, gold and silver tight cotton t-shirt, and had fingerless leather gloves on.  
  
"Who are you?" Yugi asked, curious.  
  
"Hello," the young man said with a slight British accent tinting his voice, "my name is James Chancellor. I'm here on some business. May I come it?"  
  
Isis stood up and said, "I don't recall any appointments this afternoon. Please come back later."  
  
"You misunderstand me Miss. I don't have business with the museum, I have business with the Pharaoh, the Chosen One, and their friends, including the Venators." James said, smiling slightly.  
  
This caused everyone to tense up Yami stood up and said, "What do you know about us?"  
  
"Quite a bit, sir. Quite a bit," James said and removed his glasses to reveal a pair of quite startling eyes. One eye was a bright silver color around the black iris and the other was the color of molten gold wrapped around the black iris, and both colors were outlined by black along the edges.  
  
Isis gasped slightly and said, "He's one of the Vigilis."  
  
~*~*~Somewhere unknown~*~*~  
  
"Are we ready to initiate step three?"  
  
"Yes sir, everything's going as planned."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Sir!" a new voice comes into the room.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"One of the Vigilis somehow managed to get through our guards and has now made contact with the Pharaoh, one of the Keys, and their companions!"  
  
"What?! You fool! Send your forces out, we must stop him from telling them anything at all costs!"  
  
"Yes sir!" sounds of someone leaving the room.  
  
"What do we do now sir?"  
  
"Nothing yet. Wait until the emergency is over. If all goes well, continue as planned, but if the Vigilis succeed we may have to skip at least step three."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"You're dismissed."  
  
"Yes sir." Sounds of someone leaving the room.  
  
"No one will stop me now. No one."  
  
TBC... 


	9. Answers

Answers  
  
AN: I know I said that this would take a while with finals coming up, but I felt guilty about doing that to you all, so I was working quite a lot on this chapter. It's not as long as I might've liked it to be, but I haven't had as much time as I would like. I can't wait until Christmas break. While my relatives are coming over for a bit, I can still try and work on my mom's computer and also start work on the prequel, hopefully. Well, we'll just see how kind fate decides to be to me.  
  
--BIG NOTE FOR ALL SHONEN-AI/YAOI LOVERS. MAKE SURE TO READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH AT ALL COSTS--  
  
I also worked on this a lot because I was in a good mood. Yesterday I managed to find the anime DVD of one of my favorite mangas, FAKE. And what I like best is the fact that, unlike most mangas, this is based completely on two male cops and one, Dee, really likes the other, Ryo a.k.a. Randy MacLean. The story revolves around Dee trying to convince Ryo, in his own very aggressive way, that he does love him as Ryo slowly starts to admit to himself that he is gay, he hadn't known that before, all the while having to deal with an over enthusiastic admirer of Dee's, the ten year-old soon- to-be-adopted-son of Ryo, a match-making thirteen year-old who's also Bikky- Ryo's soon to be son's-girlfriend, a police commissioner who also likes Ryo- and is so much like Dee that is pisses them both off to no end-, and the hazards of being a New York City detective on top of it all. Interesting and very, very sweet I liked the summary and was in love with the series after the first half of the first manga and it's only gotten better with each manga. For those of you wanting to check it out, look at www.tokyopop.com and look up FAKE. It's by Sanami Matoh, may fate always smile kindly upon her.  
  
Next, to anyone who was wondering, Isis is Marik's (Japanese Malik Istar's) older sister Ishizu. I looked it up because I was pretty sure that was it, but I did make sure that I was right. That's for all of you who didn't know.  
  
Also, thank you to all those who've reviewed:  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Nekostar 2  
  
Rutu  
  
YYHgurl  
  
bast4  
  
Also, here are the symbols:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"You misunderstand me Miss. I don't have business with the museum, I have business with the Pharaoh, the Chosen One, and their friends, including the Venators." James said, smiling slightly.  
  
This caused everyone to tense up Yami stood up and said, "What do you know about us?"  
  
"Quite a bit, sir. Quite a bit," James said and removed his glasses to reveal a pair of quite startling eyes. One eye was a bright silver color around the black iris and the other was the color of molten gold wrapped around the black iris, and both colors were outlined by black along the edges.  
  
Isis gasped slightly and said, "He's one of the Vigilis."  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
"What? How do you know Isis?" Derek asked suspiciously.  
  
"His eyes. I read in an ancient tablet that only one of the Vigilis have eyes like that. It's supposed to be impossible to copy them by magic, science, or any other means." Isis said.  
  
"Glad someone's heard of us. It makes my job a lot easier." James said.  
  
"What do you mean, your job?" Yami asked, moving to stand behind Yugi and wrapping his arms around his waist, and Yugi relaxed against him.  
  
"I'm here to help you find the other Key. I'm also permitted to answer a few questions. Despite legends that say we don't care either way, we'd rather not see the Earth under the rule of a maniacal, vengeful person or group of people." James said, a slight smirk on his face.  
  
"Who is the other Key then?" Ryou asked, curious.  
  
"First, do you all have any guesses who the Key a.k.a. the reincarnation of the High Priestess, mistress of the Wingweaver, is?" James asked, looking around at them all. Everyone fell silent for a moment before Yugi spoke from his place in Yami's arms.  
  
"I've an idea who it could be." Yugi said uncertainly.  
  
"Who?" James asked, a mischievous twinkle in his mismatched eyes.  
  
"I think it's-" Yugi's next words were cut off by a scream from outside in the main hall of the museum. They all froze for a second before running out to see what was going on. When they got outside they froze when they saw...Duel Monsters, four real, live Duel Monsters.  
  
"What the hell?!" Jason said in a shocked tone, eyes wide.  
  
"Hmmm," James said, strangely unperturbed, "that's interesting. Wasn't told that they could do that. Somehow they managed to summon Harpie Lady Sisters and Harpie's Brother from the Shadow Realm. Evidently they're here to stop me and for a try at the abduction act I'm guessing by the choice of monsters."  
  
"You mean you knew they'd be able to do this?" Jo asked.  
  
"Not quite. Knew they'd be able to eventually, but I didn't think they'd be able to yet," James said calmly. "Does anyone have their decks?" he asked and sighed when they shook their heads. "Guess I'll have a go then."  
  
James extended his arms, opened his hands, and touched his thumbs and first fingers together, spreading the others out and forming a triangle with his thumbs and first fingers. Then his eyes glowed slightly and he started chanting.  
  
"Evoco vim Vigilis.  
  
Rogo vestrum auxilium in meo penso.  
  
Commodo vim Deorum et Dearum.  
  
Populi, dormi.  
  
Monstri, relinquite."*  
  
Suddenly all the people around them collapsed to the floor, dead asleep, and the Duel Monsters had vanished with nothing more than a barely audible 'pop.' After which James fell to his knees, breathing hard.  
  
"What did you just do?" Malik asked. "And for that matter how did you do it?"  
  
"It's one of the advantages of being a Vigilis. It gives you certain powers that normal people don't have. What I just did was a wide range sleep spell on all those around us and had the Monsters return from where ever they came from. And damn that took a lot out of me." James panted from his kneeling position before standing up, his eyes no longer glowing.  
  
"How wide a range?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Well, I actually had it put everyone who'd seen the Harpies to sleep, though I did make sure that we were bypassed by the spell. Most people will put the sighting of the Harpies to a strange daydream. Don't know how they're supposed to explain so many people falling asleep, but my superiors will take care of it. Anyway, we better get out of here. We need to head to the closest place that it'll be safe for us to talk." James said and the others nodded.  
  
"We can head over to my house," Ryou said, "my dad's still out of town and isn't supposed to be back for a while so it'll be safe for us to talk there."  
  
Isis suddenly spoke up. "I have to stay here to take care of any suspicions. Anyway, I have a feeling that I've done my part in this occurrence."  
  
After saying goodbye the others headed off to Ryou's house. When they reached the house most practically groaned in annoyance. It seems that Ryou's dad had come home ahead of schedule, his car was in the driveway. They headed off to Yugi's house by unspoken consent.  
  
"It seems everything's against us," Derek suddenly said, breaking the silence as they neared Yugi's house. The others looked at him and he nodded, silently saying that he'd continue once he was sure that they couldn't be overheard.  
  
When they all got to his house they immediately closed and locked the door before heading up to Yugi's room. After they all took a seat Damien asked, "What did you mean by that outburst earlier Derek?"  
  
"What I mean is that not only do we happen to be currently hunted down by a group of people we know next to nothing about, but we've also had one of our friends taken captive and every time it seems that someone's about to say something really important, we get interrupted." Derek said. "I swear, someone of something is out to get us."  
  
"I agree, but we have to keep trying." Jake said, nodding from his position in his boyfriends' laps, he was sitting on the knees of both of them as he was the smallest of their group.  
  
"I know, but it's still frustrating." Derek said and the others nodded in agreement, they understood what he was talking about.  
  
"Okay," James said suddenly, "first off, which of the three Keys do you know of?"  
  
"Well," Yugi said, "we know that the moon pendent that Selene's mom gave her is one of the Keys and we guess that either Yami or I are one of the other two as our Duel Monster is Dark Magician. But we don't know the last one for sure."  
  
"You got the first two right as long as the pendant fit into the key hole and unlocked the book," James said and continued when the others nodded, "and the other is you Yugi. By the way, you say that the girl named Selene was the owner of the moon pendant right? She was the one taken. Did she have the pendant on her?"  
  
"No," Marik said, "she'd had a copy made, though not an exact one, and gave the original to Yugi here. She was wearing the copy when she was taken. I'm guessing that she wore it to fool them."  
  
James shook his head and said, "A copy wouldn't fool them. That pendant was made by the High Priestess's magic in her dying hour, when she had used up most of her magic for the sealing and the rest on the Key. While the magic is dormant, if you know what to look for you can tell just by being near it. They wouldn't be fooled by a copy because it wouldn't be infused with the same ancient magic."  
  
"But why did they take her then instead of going after Yugi. Wouldn't they be able to tell that she didn't have the Key and go after the one who did instead?" Damien asked.  
  
"Unless," Yugi said, eyes wide, "my guess was right."  
  
"What do you mean?" Jo asked while Yami's eyes widened and James grinned while the others still looked confused, it seems Yami had figured out what conclusion his hikari had come to.  
  
"Would the High Priestess's reincarnation give off an aura like the pendant? She is one of the Keys after all. Would she give off the nearly undetectable aura that would allow those looking for her to identify her?" Yugi asked, tuning to James who nodded. At this Damien's eyes also went wide, he'd made the connection and most of the others looked close to figuring it out.  
  
"It's Selene. She's the High Priestess's reincarnation. That's why they took her. While the pendant would've been an extra prize, they mainly wanted her before either she herself or we figured it out. They wanted to try and have something on us." Damien said shocked and everyone's, except those who already knew/figured it out, jaws dropped. But in way it made sense.  
  
"And the description Isis gave us matches her too." Jason said. "Her eyes are emerald green, as in 'eyes as vivid as any jewels,' and no matter what she always has been beautiful. And, as in 'more powerful than most men, and few were her equals', she has pretty much never lost at anything. The only one who was able to beat her at anything was Yugi and then it was usually a tie rather than having one or the other win. And her having the pendant would make sense now, especially when she seemed to figure out that it was the key without any sort of clue. It would probably be some knowledge her subconscious retained from her soul's time as the High Priestess."  
  
James was grinning by now. He was obviously that they'd managed to figure it out. "You all are exactly right. Selene is the High Priestess's reincarnation. We noticed the High Priestess's energy return when Selene was born. We figured that it was her when we sensed her energy, but we were sure when she managed to survive many different beatings that would've killed a normal person and yet doesn't have a single physical scar to show for it. She had many dormant powers that just expressed themselves in nearly unnoticeable ways. And before you say anything, the reason we never helped her was because at the time we were forbidden to not to mention locked in our stronghold."  
  
"So, Selene's the High Priestess's reincarnation, she had the moon pendant, and Yugi's the pharaoh's reincarnation. To sum it up, we've had all three Keys around us since we came here with the book and haven't noticed it until just now." Jason said and let James nod before summing up his feelings all in one word. "Fuck."  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: Please read and review. I appreciate all questions and comments.  
  
NOTE: ALL SHONEN-AI/YAOI LOVERS, IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE 2ND PARAGRAPH AT THE TOP, READ NOW. YOU'LL MISS OUT BIG TIME IF YOU DON'T!!!!  
  
Also, just a note, I had planned on reveal the High Priestess a little later than I did, but it just fit and the fact that many had already guessed it did help.  
  
*The translation for the Latin should read roughly as:  
  
"I call forth the power of the Watchmen.  
  
I request you aid in my task.  
  
Lend me the power of the Gods and Goddesses.  
  
People, sleep.  
  
Monsters, return." 


	10. Plans

Plans  
  
AN: I'm so sorry that this took so long. Like I said last time, my finals are coming up soon so I'm getting less and less free time. How wiped I am during next week will determine how much I get to write. Thankfully after next week we're out for Christmas vacation so I don't have to worry about that.  
  
Thank you to all my reviewers, you really help me a whole lot:  
  
Yana5  
  
Rutu  
  
Nekostar2  
  
YYHgurl  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
And here are the symbols:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"So, Selene's the High Priestess's reincarnation, she had the moon pendant, and Yugi's the pharaoh's reincarnation. To sum it up, we've had all three Keys around us since we came here with the book and haven't noticed it until just now." Jason said and let James nod before summing up his feelings all in one word. "Fuck."  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
They were all silent for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts, before Jake said, a mix between a humorous and solemn look on his face, "The way I see it, there are only two real options here."  
  
"And just what are those?" James asked, very aware of the looks the Venators and Yugi exchanged and also very unnerved by the same looks.  
  
"The old 'kill of be killed' situation right?" Derek said with a slight smirk at his two lovers and other two friends.  
  
"Yup," Jake said at the same time Seto said, rather uneasily, "Kill or be killed? What do you mean by that?'  
  
"It means," Yugi said from his position beside Yami, a slight smirk on his face clearly saying that the one on the receiving end of this would not like it in the least, "that we go after them before they come after us. Take the offensive and mess with their minds as they messed with ours."  
  
"I take it, this won't be pleasant for Them," Malik said more than asked, a small smirk playing on his lips.  
  
"Hell no it won't. I can guarantee you that it never is. Last time we did this we screwed with their minds so badly that I was surprised they weren't admitted into the nearest mental facility," Jason said, a grin that could only be described as sadistic fully formed on his face.  
  
"I like the way you think," Marik said and Bakura nodded in agreement, most of the others pushed down a shiver. The looks on their faces would've sent most people running for the hills.  
  
"So," Damien said, a grin like Jason's gracing his lips, "how're we going to do this? Decoy, multiple decoys, deception, head-on, or a combination of any of the above."  
  
"I'd say multiple decoys, tricks, decoy with deception, fake head-on with a stealth side," Yugi said and the Venators nodded. No matter how long it had been since he'd last done something like this, he'd never forget how. Hey, who would after living for two straight, or not so straight, years with these nut jobs with maybe two usually rational people.  
  
//Hikari.// Yami said, pulling Yugi close.  
  
/Yes Yami?/ Yugi asked looking up at his counterpart and lover, amethyst eyes shining with mischief and love for his yami.  
  
//Please speak plainly. I believe you and the Venators are the only ones who knew what you were talking about.// Yami said, smiling slightly as an almost unnoticeable blush graced his hikari's features, it was just plain cute.  
  
"Right." Yugi said aloud and turned to his fellow conspirators. "Um guys, I think we need to explain to them what exactly we just said. They're probably totally lost past the concept that we plan major pay back."  
  
The remaining Venators looked surprised for a moment before Jake grinned. Jason, recognizing that grin to mean trouble, slapped his hand over the smaller red head's mouth and bit back a groan as Jake took full advantage of having Jason's hand there. Derek, seeing exactly what was happening-along with the rest of the room-,said, "Why don't we get something small to eat first. It's never really easy to think on an empty stomach. Especially when you will have to do a lot of thinking."  
  
Yugi, knowing exactly how to stop Jake after having lived with him for two years, stood up, grabbed the nearest pillow, walked over to the trio still on the ground-everyone but said trio watching his every move-, and slammed the pillow down onto Jake's head eliciting a small yelp from the red head. Jake just glared at him slightly, Yugi doing his best to give him an innocent look while trying not to burst out laughing, before standing up and walking out of the room shortly followed by his boyfriends as they looked at each other, shrugged, stood up, and followed him. Yugi just snickered for a few moments before walking over to his yami and pulling him off the bed and leading him out of the room to the kitchen, after which the others followed.  
  
After a quick and mostly clean lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, they all headed back upstairs into Yugi's room.  
  
"So Yugi," Ryou asked when they'd all sat back down, "will you or someone else explain what you were talking about earlier?"  
  
"Sure," Yugi said and was then, yet again, interrupted, this time by the phone. Everyone groaned and Yugi sighed and said, "I have to get it. It could be Grandpa and he'll be worried if I don't answer."  
  
Yugi quickly walked out of the room to get the cordless phone and Derek spoke up, saying, "Every damn time. Just as I said before, every damn time. Something has to be against us, has to be."  
  
~*~*~Somewhere unknown~*~*~  
  
"Were we able to stop him?"  
  
"No sir. We sent four of the monsters after the Vigilis and the Pharaoh and his companions, but the Vigil they sent down was stronger than we guessed. He managed to put the whole of the museum to sleep along with banish the monsters back to the Shadow Realm. But I am happy to report that he isn't as strong as he could be as just that seemed to strain him quite a bit."  
  
"Well, it seems we may have to skip step three. Go directly to step four. Bring the Pharaoh and the Key here as soon as possible, and be wary of traps. Now that they know of us they will most likely try to confuse us. Especially since we recently discovered exactly who those four mystery young men traveling with the Priestess are part of the infamous group the Venators. They rank among the top I believe."  
  
"Yes sir. We will send out professionals in this area to get them here. We will not fail you sir."  
  
"You better hope you don't. If you do, the consequences may be fatal. And remember, while the High Priestess may be strong the Pharaoh is stronger and his counterpart is just as strong. They will be more difficult. Don't underestimate them. Like I said, you will not enjoy the consequences if you do."  
  
The sound of a gulp is heard before the same voice belonging to the lower man said shakily, "Yes sir. We will not fail. I promise you that."  
  
"You are dismissed."  
  
"Yes sir." The sounds of someone leaving the room.  
  
"This time I will be the one who ends up victorious Pharaoh. Mark my words, you and all your friends will pay for what happened before. I will lock every last one of them in the Regnum Tumultuosorum Somniorum for the rest of eternity."  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, what do you think? Please read and review. 


	11. Commencement

Commencement  
  
AN: Sorry this took so long. Finals ended three days ago but we had a sleepover at my friend's house the day finals ended and I caught my brother's cold, now making me miserable, and I've been cleaning today and will be tomorrow. Just like my characters, I swear that something is out to get me.  
  
Thank you to all those that reviewed:  
  
Yugi Muotu  
  
Nekostar 2  
  
Rutu  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa  
  
YYHgurl  
  
You all will never understand just how much you help me.  
  
Also, here are the symbols again:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
And on you go...  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"So Yugi," Ryou asked when they'd all sat back down, "will you or someone else explain what you were talking about earlier?"  
  
"Sure," Yugi said and was then, yet again, interrupted, this time by the phone. Everyone groaned and Yugi sighed and said, "I have to get it. It could be Grandpa and he'll be worried if I don't answer."  
  
Yugi quickly walked out of the room to get the cordless phone and Derek spoke up, saying, "Every damn time. Just as I said before, every damn time. Something has to be against us, has to be."  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi walked back into the room ten minutes later and said, "That was my Grandpa. He was wondering how I was doing."  
  
"Okay then. Anyway, we still need to explain the plan to the others. And I'd prefer to do so before something else interrupts us." Jake said, nodding to Yami and the others who nodded in agreement.  
  
"Okay then, Damien why don't you explain," Yugi said before sitting down beside his yami.  
  
Damien nodded before saying, "I guess I'll explain it one part at a time. By saying multiple decoys we meant using these copies that Jason managed to make. They're basically semi-solid and opaque moving copies of someone. They can be told what to say and how to act through a computer program and, by our standards, they're relatively easy to make. We could use them to fool the enemy into thinking we're somewhere we're not. And now that we know about it, we could have Yugi put some of his magic it his. Not sure if it would work, but it couldn't hurt to try.  
  
"When we said tricks we meant one of Jake's personal favorites, practical jokes. I know it seems a bit immature but it's something that most people don't expect. We take advantage of everything we can. And Jake has a nearly unlimited supply of joke ideas in his head so we never have to worry about it.  
  
"On the decoy with deception, it'll only work if Yugi can infuse his magic in his because we'll give whoever comes for him the copy instead of the real Yugi. We can implant a tracking device into the copy and find out where the base is. And that leads to the last one, fake head-on with a stealth side. Basically we, yet again, use decoys to make them think we're attacking head-on while we sneak in from the side. Gives us the edge because they probably won't think to look for us elsewhere while they think they have us busy fighting. All in all, it involves a lot of false leads and trickery."  
  
"I like the sound of that," Marik said, grinning at Bakura who nodded in agreement. Then again, knowing those two, of course they would like it.  
  
"One problem though," Jason said and everyone turned to him, "I don't have any of my normal equipment I use to put the stuff together."  
  
Before anyone else said anything Seto spoke up. "You can use whatever I have at my house if you want to. It may not be what you're used to, but it's a lot better than nothing or anything you could find elsewhere at the moment."  
  
Jason nodded and Yugi said, "Thanks Seto. That'll work just perfectly. Now, Jake." Yugi turned to Jake as he said the last part.  
  
"What is it Yugi?" Jake asked, curious.  
  
"Do you need anything for you jokes, or do you have all of it?" Yugi asked, eyes shining with curiosity, obviously wondering what Jake had up his sleeve this time.  
  
"I should have everything I need, but even if I don't, I have enough money on me to buy it myself." Jake said, grinning mischievously.\  
  
"Good, now when do we start our plans?" Yugi asked, looking at everyone.  
  
"I'd say start making the decoys now, but wait till your dad comes to get you in just less than a week before we do anything. After all, we do know that he's in league with Them." Derek said and everyone nodded in agreement.  
  
"Well, I suggest that we start on the decoys now. Goodness only knows how long it'll take to make them. But first I need to know who all is coming with us. Decide now because once we start our plans there'll be no backing out." Damien said, his sapphire eyes completely serious.  
  
"Was there ever any doubt concerning us?" Jake asked, smirking as his lovers nodded.  
  
"I definitely am," said Yugi and Yami nodded in agreement. Even if he couldn't stop him, he wasn't about to let his hikari go without him.  
  
"Count me in," Malik said and Marik said, "And me."  
  
"I'm going," Ryou said and Bakura glanced at him, worried, before saying, "So am I."  
  
"I may not be much help, but I'm coming," Jo said and Seto nodded in agreement, pulling his boyfriend closer to him.  
  
"I am. I would even if I didn't have to." James said, a grin on his face. He seemed to be enjoying this far too much.  
  
"One more thing," Derek said, glancing around at all of them, "it would probably be best if we didn't tell anyone else about what's going on. If there are any questions about Selene, we simply say that she couldn't come with us at the moment. I know that we can probably trust others, but I'd feel safer and more confident if this didn't leave the room."  
  
Jake, Jason, and Damien nodded in agreement while the others did so too, though rather reluctantly. They may understand, but that doesn't mean that they're completely comfortable with lying to their other friends.  
  
"Okay then, let's get started shall we. We'll show Them that they should've never messed with us. They just made the biggest mistake of their lives." Yami said, holding Yugi close to him.  
  
"Okay, Seto, could you take me to your lab so I can get a head start on those copies?" Jason asked and Seto nodded.  
  
"I'm coming with you. I won't be as much help as Selene usually is, but I'm better than nothing." Damien said and Jason nodded before taking out several small sample bags from a previously unnoticed pocket and handing one to each of them. Everyone but the Venators and Yugi, who just pulled out a few pieces of hair and put them into their respective bags, looked confused.  
  
"I need some DNA so I can get a good copy. Otherwise they might end up having noticeable differences if I can create them at all." Jason said and the others nodded before copy the Venators' and Yugi's previous actions. Jason picked up a fine-tip marker off of Yugi's desk and passed it around so everyone could label their own bags before handing them to him.  
  
"Let's get going then," Seto said, standing up with Jo, and Jason and Damien nodded before standing up.  
  
"We'll see you later," Jason said as he and Damien walked out behind Seto and Jo.  
  
"See ya." Yugi called back.  
  
"I'll go back downstairs and start planning the pranks. Derek, will you help me?" Jake said, standing up with Derek, who'd just nodded. The two headed downstairs.  
  
"Well, since you all seem to have everything under control, I'll take my leave for now. If you need me, just call through the necklace. If you concentrate hard enough it'll call to me no matter where I am." James said before standing up, bowing, and just simply disappearing, startling the remaining group.  
  
"Okay then. I suggest the rest of us start tuning up our decks. We'll most probably need the monsters and traps to get through everything that's waiting for us." Yugi said and everyone nodded before they all stood up, except Yami and Yugi, and headed out.  
  
/Yami./ Yugi said once they were alone.  
  
//Yes Hikari?// Yami said, wondering what was on his hikari's mind.  
  
/I'm worried. What if this doesn't work? Then it'll be partly my fault. I should never have let them get Selene in the first place. And if they've hurt her...you know what's she's been through before. If something like that happens again...I just don't know what will happen to her if it does./ Yugi said, burying his face into his yami's chest.  
  
//Don't worry Hikari. It will work. And Selene will be fine. You know better than anyone that she's one of the strongest people we could ever know.// Yami said, though he himself had had those same thoughts before.  
  
/Thank you Yami./ Yugi said.  
  
//Don't mention it koishii. Now, why don't we start on our decks.// Yami said, kissing his hikari's forehead tenderly before doing the same to his mouth.  
  
/Okay then. And I mean it. You always seem to know just how to help me./ Yugi said before they both stood up and fetched their cards to prepare for the upcoming battle.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: Please read and review. I appreciate all comments and criticisms, however flames will be used to roast my marshmallows. No flames yet though, and for that I'll be eternally grateful.  
  
I'll try and update soon, but with my relatives coming over in three days, Christmas Eve, who knows when I'll get time.  
  
If I can't update before then, then I wish you all a happy holidays!  
  
Also:  
  
Koishii=beloved  
  
Just thought you might want to know. 


	12. Inside

Inside  
  
AN: Sorry this took so long. I've been feeling kind of under the weather since about three days before Christmas and am just now feeling better. The fact that we had relatives over for most of that time didn't help either. It's not easy to write when the people borrowing your room start going to bed around nine and before that you're usually busy.  
  
Thank you to all those who reviewed, I really mean it when I say you help me more than you could know:  
  
Yana5  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
YYHgurl  
  
Nekostar2  
  
Anyway, I hope you all had a happy new year and enjoy this new chapter.  
  
Symbols:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
/I'm worried. What if this doesn't work? Then it'll be partly my fault. I should never have let them get Selene in the first place. And if they've hurt her...you know what's she's been through before. If something like that happens again...I just don't know what will happen to her if it does./ Yugi said, burying his face into his yami's chest.  
  
//Don't worry Hikari. It will work. And Selene will be fine. You know better than anyone that she's one of the strongest people we could ever know.// Yami said, though he himself had had those same thoughts before.  
  
/Thank you Yami./ Yugi said.  
  
//Don't mention it koishii. Now, why don't we start on our decks.// Yami said, kissing his hikari's forehead tenderly before doing the same to his mouth.  
  
/Okay then. And I mean it. You always seem to know just how to help me./ Yugi said before they both stood up and fetched their cards to prepare for the upcoming battle.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
The next week went by relatively smoothly. Everybody made sure that everything they did while preparing was as inconspicuous as possible. They also made sure that Anzu and Honda didn't suspect anything. They didn't like having to leave some of their friends in the dark, but all in all it was for their own protection.  
  
It was one week later and Yugi was waiting at his house with Yami and Jason, who had just brought over the finished copy to be used for the fake, were all waiting for Yugi's father to arrive. Thankfully Yugi had been able to infuse the copy with some of his magic.  
  
Yugi shot up straight from his slightly slouched position on the couch when he heard the doorbell ring.  
  
//Hikari?// Yami asked and Yugi nodded and walked upstairs.  
  
/Don't worry. He'll never know I'm here./ Yugi replied  
  
Jason went into the kitchen after a quick nod to Yami who followed him as the copy went to the front door. CYugi (copy Yugi) opened the door with a very convincing scowl when he saw his father.  
  
"Ready to go?" Adam said with a slight smirk at his 'son.'  
  
CYugi just nodded and picked up his bag before following. When the heard the door shut Yami and Jason came out of the kitchen to watch from the window as he drove off.  
  
"Well, it seems to have worked," Jason said and Yami nodded before contacting Yugi.  
  
//Tenshi, it worked. You can come back down now.// Yami said and he could pretty much feel Yugi smile slightly at his nickname for his hikari.  
  
"We need to get to contact Seto so he can follow the copy as they move away. If we don't we may lose them before we get a chance to see where the base is." Jason nodded as Yugi said this and headed to the phone in the kitchen.  
  
/All we can do now is hope for the best./ Yugi said, walking over to his Yami.  
  
//It will work. Don't worry koishii. It will work.// Yami said, taking Yugi into his arms. They stood like that for a moment before Jason walked back into the room.  
  
"Guys, the tracker worked. Soon we should have the location for the base and we can attack within the next 48 hours. Right now, though, everyone wants to meet over at Seto's for at least one last preparation meeting before we start out." Jason said and the other two nodded and followed Jason out to the car to drive over to Seto's.  
  
When they reached the mansion they were escorted inside and led to what was, presumably, Seto's private office or some kind of private room so they wouldn't be disturbed. They walked in and found everyone sitting on various couches around a large circular table.  
  
Jason went over to sit with Jake, Derek, and Damien on the largest couch and Yami and Yugi took the empty two-seater couch next to them. Seto and Jo sat in one similar to Yami and Yugi's and was next to the one containing Ryou, Bakura, Malik, and Marik which was just slightly shorter than the one the Venators shared and was situated right beside it.  
  
"Okay, now that everyone is here we should start to plan for when we are to attack the 'fortress'," Derek said and the others nodded in agreement.  
  
"First of all," Seto said, "the car stopped shortly before Yugi, Yami, and Jason got here. I've been monitoring it on my laptop. We now know that it is located about two miles North West of the town."  
  
"Good," Jason said, "now, we also need to figure out the groups we'll be in during the break in, the smaller the better because we'll have less chance of getting caught. I also suggest that at least on of us Venators be with each group. I know we have experienced people here, but this is our line of work, it's what we do best."  
  
Yugi nodded and said, "I agree. With at least one in each group we'll have an easier time going unnoticed for the longest possible time."  
  
"Okay, how do we split up?" Jake asked, none to happy about the prospect about being separated from his lovers again, but he didn't complain because he understood exactly why and knew it was for the best.  
  
"For one thing, the Yamis and Hikaris will be paired up with their counterpart. I know I won't let Yugi go off alone and I doubt that Bakura will let Ryou or Marik Malik." Yami said and no one disagreed. That, after all, was probably the safest course. Personally, I'd hate to see what any of the Yamis would do to someone who tried to separate them from their Hikaris.  
  
"So, then four groups of three. We can each take a different entrance into the building so we don't have to worry about that." Yugi said.  
  
"Okay, how about like this: Damien will go with Yami and Yugi, Jason with Seto and Jo, Jake with Malik and Marik, and I'll go with Ryou and Bakura," Derek said and everyone else nodded, it worked.  
  
"Finally, Seto," Jason said and Seto looked at him, "do you mind if I borrow you laptop for a moment. I think I may know how to get something that will make this a lot easier."  
  
"What?" Jo asked as Seto handed his laptop to Jason with a very wary look. He wasn't too sure if he wanted to know what Jason had up his sleeve, the knowing grins sprouting on the other Venators' and Yugi's faces kind of frightened him.  
  
"Blue prints of course. I wouldn't be the computer wizard if I didn't know how to hack into a company's or the government's mainframe for such a thing. It's essential to know where you're going when you have a specific goal in mind." Jason said and Seto groaned. He knew he hadn't wanted to know what Jason was doing.  
  
Everyone fell silent for a while and the only thing that could be heard was the slight tapping noise as Jason worked on the computer. After about ten minutes they heard a curse issue from said person.  
  
"What is it?" Ryou asked, wondering why Jason was getting worked up.  
  
"I hit a password firewall. I'll have trouble getting around it if it isn't damn near impossible." Jason said.  
  
Yugi frowned and said, "Can I see that for a moment?"  
  
Puzzled, Jason handed the laptop over to Yugi who typed in a few codes before hitting the Enter key multiple times then entering more codes followed by the use of the Shift and Delete key in unison. The next thing they knew they were staring at the data bank of the government computer and the company computer both at the same time.  
  
When Jason stared at him, dumbfounded, along with pretty much everyone else in the room Yugi blushed slightly and handed the computer back to Jason before saying, "I heard Selene talking about it a while back. She said it was supposed to be a code breaker. She still hadn't been sure if it would work and never got a chance to test it so I just did."  
  
Jason only nodded slightly before heading back to work. After a few seconds everyone just turned to watch him work instead. A couple minutes later he grinned and then they heard the printer behind Malik and Marik's couch start to work and they saw several pages of blue prints print out.  
  
The next few hours was spent working on how each group was to get in and where Selene would most probably be and where They would most probably be. Then they all left for their own homes to finish preparing with a promise to meet back at Seto's around ten so by the time they got out to the place it would be midnight and dark enough so they wouldn't easily be seen.  
  
(You all have no idea how tempting it was to stop here, but I decided to go a little further since you had to wait so long for it.)  
  
All went as planned and they were situated outside the base, waiting for the signal to head out, by midnight. Suddenly they heard the noise that was the border guards heading toward the entrance where the copies had evidently just been told to head out and each group went in, praying that all would work out.  
  
~*~*~Malik, Marik, and Jake~*~*~  
  
Malik, Marik, and Jake had the easiest time at the beginning because their entrance was located at the front. They were assigned to look at one of the two areas they believed Selene could be held in and, whether or not they found her, then report to the others through the portable headset walkie-talkies they all wore so they could keep in touch.  
  
When they reached to appropriate floor they froze and heard several sounds that sounded like footsteps. It seems that, even if Selene wasn't here, there were a few guards, and, human or not, there was only one easy way to deal with them. Jake nodded to Malik and Marik, both of whom smirked in a VERY evil way and drew one card from their respective deck that hung at their waists. They had made sure that they each had a deck just in case they got separated.  
  
The next thing Jake knew he was, yet again, facing two very alive monsters. They turned to corner and saw several of two different monsters, Souls of the Forgotten (900/200) and Guardian of the Labyrinth (1000/1200).  
  
"Melchid the Four-Face Beast, attack," Malik said and Melchid (1500/1200) did just that. It managed to destroy a Guardian shortly followed by a SotF.  
  
"Makiura the Destructor, attack," Marik called out and Makiura (1600/1200) along with Melchid made short work of the remaining Guardians and SotF's.  
  
"Good job, now let's see if we can find her here," Jake said as Makiura and Melchid went back into their cards. Malik and Marik nodded and they headed out.  
  
Unfortunately they didn't notice the remaining monster hiding in the shadows until it was too late. First they saw several Armed Ninja and then only black and they were knocked out and carried away.  
  
~*~*~Ryou, Bakura, and Derek~*~*~  
  
Ryou, Bakura, and Derek had a rather difficult time getting in because their entrance was one of the two closest to the door. Luckily Derek managed to make quick work of knocking out the guards after Bakura used a Chain Energy card to tie them up.  
  
They were also to head to one of the two areas that They were likely to have put Selene in. Unfortunately for them they, yet again, encountered resistance, this time in the form of Duel Monsters. They recognized Super Robolady (1200/500), Wall of Illusions (1000/1850), and five Princess of Tsurugi's (900/700) with Super Robolady patrolling while Wall of Illusions was evidently in defense since it seemed to be guarding the PoT's.  
  
Derek looked at Ryou and Bakura who just nodded and each drew a card. They had done the same thing that Malik and Marik had done for the same reason, after all you never knew what could happen. And the next thing Derek saw were two Duel Monsters that looked like they came out of a nightmare and took a few steps away.  
  
"Headless Knight, attack," Ryou said and the Headless Knight (1450/1700) galloped forward and destroyed the Super Robolady.  
  
"Dark Necrofear, attack," Bakura called and Dark Necrofear (2200/2800) joined the Headless Knight in the attack, aiming for the PoT's, but the Wall of Illusions intercepted the attack causing it to be destroyed and Dark Necrofear to return to it's card. Bakura cursed. Headless Knight galloped toward the PoT's and attacked, destroying them one by one, but not before they retaliated. Three of them threw their ice throwing knives toward Derek, Ryou, and Bakura who were unable to dodge in time and were very effectively pinned to the wall behind them. The Headless Knight managed to destroy three and as he attacked the last two they combined their attack into one and attacked him so they were all destroyed at the same time.  
  
"Well, this is nice," Derek said very sarcastically.  
  
"Really," Bakura replied, sarcasm just dripping from his voice, "what ever gave you that idea. And here I was thinking that we were in a shit load of trouble."  
  
They didn't get to say anything else because they saw three Harpie's Brothers (1800/600) flying their way. After that the next thing any of them saw was black as they were knocked unconscious and carried away.  
  
~*~*~Seto, Jo, and Jason~*~*~  
  
Seto, Jo, and Jason had a rather easy time in comparison. They managed to make it into the building without any trouble and were heading to their destination point through the air vents.  
  
They were to try and make it to the control room to try and shut down any of the security, lock the outside doors so those guards couldn't get in, and, in general, cause hell for those they were up against. Because none of them had any Shadow Powers they were extra careful to make no noise what so ever. They knew if they went up against any of the stronger monsters they be done for.  
  
After about ten minutes of crawling they reached a vent and Jason looked down before signaling to the others that this was the right one. With stealth born of being a thief, he silently worked the rather large vent out of place and silently put it beside the hole. Then, with one look around to make sure that they were alone, jumped down without making a sound and shortly followed by Seto and Jo.  
  
"Okay Seto, Jo, time to get to work. You two work on the security system while I work on a little pay back." Jason said the Seto and Jo nodded.  
  
They were at it for about five minutes when suddenly something popped up on the screen in front of Seto and Jo.  
  
"What the hell?" Seto said as suddenly the screen froze. Without any warning the floor under Seto and Jo and they fell. Jason, hearing their shouts, turned and, cursing all the while, ran over to the hole in the gound. Unfortunately for him the same thing happened to him about two feet from his goal. Then the holes closed back over, leaving no traces of the three men that had just been there.  
  
~*~*~Yugi, Yami, and Damien~*~*~  
  
Yugi, Yami, and Damien were having a suspiciously easy time with things. They had run into two Protector of the Thrones (800/1500), one Rainbow Flower (400/500), and three Little Chimeras (600/550) all separate and all taken care of by Yami summoning Silver Fang (1200/800) and they were already over half way to their destination.  
  
"I doubt that things are supposed to be this easy," Damien said, "it almost feels as if were being lured into a trap."  
  
"I agree," Yugi said as Yami nodded.  
  
Currently they were headed toward the center of the building to a room where they believed they would be able to find the boss. They knew that they'd have to face him before this was over so they were going to get it over with as quickly as possible and find the others.  
  
/It feels like we're being watched. It's almost as if He WANTS us to make it to the center./ Yugi said looking at Yami, who just nodded.  
  
//I agree. I wouldn't doubt that he probably has something set up. I also wouldn't doubt that he has figured out that the copies are copies by now. Unfortunately He is at least that intelligent.// Yami said, smiling reassuringly at his hikari.  
  
"Guys, we're here," Damien said, interrupting the mental conversation between the two. Yugi nodded at Yami and Damien who nodded back. After a quick look around the entrance to make sure that they were really alone, they headed over to the massive doors and slowly pushed them open.  
  
When they opened the doors they saw a huge room. It was lighted by several torch looking ornaments and along the edge were several glass cylinders that they were unable to see into. However what drew their gaze was in the center of the room, lying on a stone table, was an unconscious Selene dressed in a white dress that had a solid body up to about three inches below her breasts at which point it became two scarf like pieces that crossed her chest, covering her breasts, and around her arms.  
  
TBC...  
  
AN: So, does this satisfy all those who were prepared to take off my head for not updating in so long? Hope it does. Anyway, please read and review.  
  
BTW, I thought you might want to know that just the story part of this chapter was about 3023 words in length and the whole damn thing was about 3471 words in length. 


	13. Meetings

Meetings  
  
AN: I am SO sorry that this took so long. If any of you all are wondering why then read the AN in "Back to Your Heart" which is the story I wrote kind of as an apology for taking so long.  
  
And I want to thank all my loyal reviewers:  
  
YYHgurl  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Yana5  
  
Rutu  
  
Nekostar2  
  
And to Nekostar2 again because she's already reviewed "Back to Your Heart."  
  
And here are the symbols:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\...\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
When they opened the doors they saw a huge room. It was lighted by several torch looking ornaments and along the edge were several glass cylinders that they were unable to see into. However what drew their gaze was in the center of the room, lying on a stone table, was an unconscious Selene dressed in a white dress that had a solid body up to about three inches below her breasts at which point it became two scarf like pieces that crossed her chest, covering her breasts, and around her arms.  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
"Selene!" Yugi said and ran to her, only to be blasted away about five feet away by a strange force field. Thankfully Yami saw this and managed to catch him or else there is a very good chance he could've cracked his head on the hard floor.  
  
"Now, now, I wouldn't try that again if I were you," came a familiar voice out of the shadows. This was one voice they'd hope they would never have to hear again.  
  
"Akuma," Damien spat with utter disgust coloring his tone.  
  
"The one and only," the blond said as he stepped out of the shadows behind the platform on which Selene lay and into the force field, they could tell because of the slight change in the background as the shield dropped for a second.  
  
"What the hell did you do to Selene?" Damien said, clearly pissed and, to anyone who really knew him, slightly afraid of what had happened to the one he loved.  
  
Akuma just smirked and said, "Nothing that hasn't been done before. And only what I was asked to do by my employer. She is still alive if that's what you're asking. As pertaining to her health, physically she's perfectly fine. Mentally, well that's another story."  
  
At this Damien, Yugi, and Yami's eyes widened, they all caught the tone in which he said it and couldn't stop the thought that he'd raped the currently unconscious girl. This made Damien practically growl in the back of his throat.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm done with her. Only, now it's His turn to do what he wishes. I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I don't ask questions when they give me exactly what I want. All I had to do was set up the hidden guards in this room. And on that thought, I suggest you don't so much as breath funny if you don't want to be shot by one of my snipers hidden in the shadows." Akuma smirked an arrogant smirk at them.  
  
/Yami, what do we do now? We can't get near her and gods only know where the others are./ Yugi said to his yami through their mind link.  
  
//I'm not sure, aibou. For the moment just play along. Right now we need to find out who is behind all of this.// Yami replied.  
  
"Now, my job of greeting the guests is done and my employer will be down in a minute. I'll see you later." And with that Akuma disappeared.  
  
There was a moment of silence before a voice came from the shadows. "Very good, it seems that Akuma did his job and did it well. Welcome, Pharaoh, to my humble abode." And out of the shadows stepped a man who looked to be in his late thirties or early forties and had, strangely enough, pure white hair.  
  
"So you're the one who's behind all of this," Yami said, drawing the man's attention from his hikari.  
  
"Why yes I am. And how rude of me, I forgot the introduce myself. My name is Gekido." The man said and smiled a cold smile.  
  
Yami's brows furrowed as he tried to remember where he remembered that name from. He knew he'd heard it before, but he couldn't remember exactly where.  
  
"Ah, I see you don't remember me. Well, let me refresh your memory. You see, back in Egypt I was a great lord. I was also a trusted advisor of your fathers, and that's where all my fortune came from, however that all changed when you took the throne. You see, I helped assassinate you father when he realized that I had started to feed him false information and I had hoped that you might be more susceptible, however you proved stronger than I thought. I had to leave for three years and then I returned and attacked, accessing powers from another realm, much like the shadow realm. However, thanks to you and that forever-damned priestess, I was killed and the realm sealed and the knowledge stored in one book that was then guarded by your favorite monsters. The only good thing that came out of my death was the death of the priestess."  
  
Yami's eyes widened, as Gekido told his story the memory had unfolded in his mind. Now he remembered the thrice-damned lord. He also remembered how the priestess had died after the battle because she had used the last of her energy to create the key to the spell book after placing the Wingweaver as one of the guardians. But, for some reason he couldn't remember exactly where Gekido had gotten his power.  
  
"Now, I will call up the spirit of the priestess so she can call down her guardian monster from the book," Gekido said as the spell book they'd left at Yugi's house suddenly materialized in front of him.  
  
"And what," Yami asked, "makes you think that she'll do that or that I'll call of the Dark Magician. You do need both of them called off to be able to access the information."  
  
"Ah, you see I already came up with a solution for that minor detail," Gekido said. Suddenly the whole room lit up and they could see into the glass cylinders that lined the room. And all of the sudden they wished they couldn't. Trapped in each of them was one of their friends.  
  
"And don't bother thinking about trying to break the glass. It's tempered, bullet-proof glass that I enchanted with my own brand of magic. And you see, I could easily send all of them to the Regnum Tumultuosorum Somniorun for the rest of eternity."  
  
"The what?" Yami asked.  
  
"It means the Realm of Nightmares. It's a Latin name." Damien said from his position beside the pair.  
  
"Very good. Yes, that is exactly what it means. And when I send someone there they are forced to relive their worst nightmares for the rest of eternity. Imagine the horrors that they could possibly experience." Gekido said, a sadistic smirk on his features. "However, it you cooperate and call of the Dark Magician then I won't send them there. And don't think I wouldn't have enough time it you didn't because I've trained with it so much it hardly takes a first thought, much less a second thought, to send someone or a group of people there instantly. So I trust you will cooperate with me and the priestess will because despite the fact that she doesn't really know them, they are her reincarnation's close companions so she will call her guardian off."  
  
"Damn it all," Yami muttered and Yugi looked at him, concerned. This was not good, not good at all.  
  
"Now, I will summon the priestess and you all just stay where you are unless you want to risk getting shot." Gekido said before smirking and turning his back to them. They felt a sudden rise in power from his direction as he began the spell.  
  
"Invoco spiritum manium  
  
Resurgé, Sacerda, et adimé corpum novús ortús tuús  
  
Advení ad Regnum Vivórum  
  
Advení et efferre propositum meum"*  
  
Suddenly Selene's body floated a few feet off the table and was surrounded by a bright glow. Then there was a flash and everyone had to cover their eyes as they were temporarily blinded by said flash. When they could finally see again they saw Selene now standing on the floor, only she seemed different. Her aura and stance was slightly different than what they were used to and her eyes, normally very expressive of her feelings, where closed off though you could see a hint of great wisdom behind the cold mask. It seemed that the summoning worked, the person now standing in Selene's body wasn't Selene and they could only assume that it was the High Priestess.  
  
Then the High Priestess spoke, "I see that it has been many millennia since I last walked this earth. And it is time yet again to start the events that may save or destroy this earth." Her voice sounded different, more time worn. Almost like someone who has seen much and yet still perseveres and has gained great wisdom.  
  
"Good day Priestess. I called you out so you could help me to open this book that you and the Pharaoh so conveniently sealed so long ago." Gekido said. "I assume you heard or know exactly what will happen should you refuse or try to trick me."  
  
"Yes I heard," the Priestess said, "unfortunately for you it is not so simple to get the secrets of the book. Only the worthy may be deemed to see the contents and you must prove yourself to be so. That is how the seal was designed. You may be able to open the book and even see the pages, but until you prove yourself worthy you will never be able to read the pages."  
  
"What?! I was never told of such a trial!" Gekido said, furious. "How do I know you are not lying to me?!"  
  
"Try it and see. You were never informed because I incorporated it into the seal at the last moment and took the information to my grave. No one ever knew except myself." The Priestess said, a mocking look now gracing her face. Gekido's face was currently turning red with indignation.  
  
"I will try," he ground out, "and if it turns out to be so you will deem me worthy of reading the information otherwise the Pharaoh and your reincarnations' companions will be sent to the Realm of Nightmares."  
  
"We will see," she said.  
  
Yugi, Yami, and Damien stared at her curious as to what she was up to. They could sense that there was more to this than she was letting on.  
  
Gekido suddenly pulled something from under his collar that they recognized as the crescent moon pendant that they'd left with the book. He placed the pendant into the keyhole and unlocked the cover before pulling it back.  
  
"Wingweaver, grant passage to the one who now opens the book. Allow him to see the secret inside." The High Priestess suddenly said, startling them all. Then she turned to look at Yugi and said, "You must do the same or the Dark Magician will surely attack."  
  
Yugi nodded and, feeling just a little bit foolish, said, "Dark Magician, grant passage to the one who now opens the book. Allow him to see the secret inside."  
  
Once they finished the pages emitted a slight glow and the pictures on the front pages disappeared, only to return when their masters commanded. Gekido turned the page and after a few minutes said in a furious tone, "You were right, I cannot read it. However now you must deem me worthy."  
  
"It is not that simple," the High Priestess said, a slight smirk now gracing her features as she coolly gazed at the red-faced man in front of her.  
  
"What do you mean not that simple?" He asked in a menacing voice.  
  
"As a safeguard against those who would use loved one against the person or people who could do so the person asking to be deemed worthy must pass a test. A rather old method, but one not yet unheard of. You see the person asking to be deemed worthy must prove themselves against those currently deemed worthy in a duel of Duel Monsters. Only now things are made more difficult with the advancement of the game since ancient times."  
  
Everyone's eyes widened at her words. Well, this was certainly unexpected. Though Yugi, Yami, and Damien were very glad of the foresight of the High Priestess.  
  
"Fine then, I will prove myself worthy by defeating both you and the Pharaoh's reincarnations in a duel." Gekido said, looking not just a little pissed at this turn of events.  
  
"Good, then it will be Selene and Yugi against you, though because of your past treatment of her I will have to lend her strength and block those memories until this is over otherwise she would be unable to duel. And now we need a judge. James, if you would come out from where you're currently hiding it would be greatly appreciated." The High Priestess said, surprising everyone. However they were more shocked when James, the Vigil they'd met the week before, suddenly appeared kneeling before her.  
  
"It would be my honor Priestess," he said, standing up. "However I'd of thought you'd want one of my superiors to do so."  
  
The Priestess smiled benignly and said, "James, there is no need to be modest. I know of your powers though you were but a child when I last saw you. While those higher than you may be your superiors in wisdom and age, magically you surpass all of them even if you pretend you don't. That is the reason they sent you down here after all, they knew you'd be the only one who could get past all the guards and traps Gekido set to stop you." A blush graced James's features as he looked slightly embarrassed by the praise the woman in front of him was bestowing upon him.  
  
"But how could he have been alive all those years ago?" Yugi suddenly asked. "I don't mean to be rude, but you lived five millennia ago and he looks to be about my age."  
  
The Priestess smiled at him and said, "The Vigilis are all granted longer life spans. James here has lived those five millennia and then some up in the Vigilis' stronghold." Then she turned to Gekido and said, "Now if you would be so kind as to tell your men to back down for a while we could get on with the Duel."  
  
Gekido waved his arm in the air, apparently signaling to his men to back down for the time being. Then the High Priestess smiled before closing her eyes. Her body emitted a slight glow before she collapsed. James caught her and handed her to Damien who, along with Yugi and Yami, had run over when he saw her collapse. When she opened her eyes a second later they saw that it was the old Selene again.  
  
It wasn't long before Yugi and Selene had been equipped with Duel Disks (refer to the anime series during battle city if you want to know what I'm talking about) thanks to James and were standing across from Gekido, Selene equipped with her deck that Yugi had found and brought because of a feeling. It was time for the fate of the whole world to yet again be decided by a single duel.  
  
"Combatants ready," James said, "duel!"  
  
AN: So what do you think? Please read and review! And if anyone knows a site or something where I can get a list of all the cards in Yugi's deck on the show I'd be very grateful. I found something but I could always use more than one reference.  
  
BTW:  
  
Gekido means "wrath" in Japanese.  
  
Aibou I believe means "partner" and it's what Yami calls Yugi in the Japanese version of the show.  
  
Also the incantation the Gekido used should roughly translate into something like this:  
  
"I call upon a spirit of the dead  
  
Rise, Priestess, and take the body of your reincarnation  
  
Come to the Realm of the Living  
  
Come and carry out my will." 


	14. Duel

Duel  
  
AN: Hey all, sorry for taking so long in writing this. Not only have my teachers been piling on the work, but my family life has been busy too. If I had known how busy I'd be getting soon after the last chapter I'd warned you. But, as an apology I have written two one-shot song fic.'s that I've now published. One is on the anime Sailor Moon, the thing that originally got me into anime, and one is another one-shot side fic for this series set after Trials of Life.  
  
I want to thank those who have waited so long for this chapter, it's dedicated to you. If it weren't for all those reviews I never would've been able to write so much.  
  
Angel Reaper (Back to Your Heart) (Trials of Life)  
  
K Yami Yugi 29 (Back to Your Heart) (Two Steps Behind) (Trials of Life) (Probationis Vitae)  
  
Nekostar 2 (Probationis Vitae)  
  
YYHgurl (Probationis Vitae)  
  
YugiMutou (Back to Your Heart) (Probationis Vitae)  
  
Rutu (Probationis Vitae)  
  
Dark Sanctuary (Back to Your Heart)  
  
Anime-Crazed33 (Probationis Vitae)  
  
LilBlue-Hedggie (Trials of Life)  
  
You all are the best. I enjoy hearing what you think and I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
  
Also note, I suggest that you don't try to do one of these for just fun because the Duel Outline took me several hours, two decks, and eight pieces of paper with information to finish and it ended up being 12 pages long. And note that because of the time it took to make the outline I may have made a few mistakes that will carry over into the story. If I did, please ignore them.  
  
Final note, the rules are those of the game from the Duelist Kingdom series where you don't have to sacrifice to bring out another monster because that would be too much to keep up with. And you will know what Yugi and Selene have, but not what Gekido has.  
  
And here are the symbols:  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
//...// is Yami to Yugi.  
  
\...\ is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
\\.....\\ is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
^...^ is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
^^...^^ is Marik to Malik.  
  
"~...~" is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
Read and enjoy.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
Gekido waved his arm in the air, apparently signaling to his men to back down for the time being. Then the High Priestess smiled before closing her eyes. Her body emitted a slight glow before she collapsed. James caught her and handed her to Damien who, along with Yugi and Yami, had run over when he saw her collapse. When she opened her eyes a second later they saw that it was the old Selene again.  
  
It wasn't long before Yugi and Selene had been equipped with Duel Disks (refer to the anime series during battle city if you want to know what I'm talking about) thanks to James and were now standing across from Gekido, Selene equipped with her deck that Yugi had found and brought because of a feeling. It was time for the fate of the whole world to yet again be decided by a single duel.  
  
"Combatants ready," James said, "duel!"  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
The standing at the beginning was Gekido with 8000 life points versus Yugi and Selene with 4000 life points each. The turn order was decided by picking up a random card from their decks and the one with the rarest went first, second went second, and the third went third. The turn order ended up being Selene, Yugi, and Gekido.  
  
All duelists draw five cards. Selene draws one card and looks down at her hand. 'Cat of Ill Omen, Neo the Magic Swordsman, Wall of Illusion, Earthbound Spirit, The Dark Door, and Aqua Madoor, that's a good start.'  
  
"I lay one card face down in defense mode and end my turn," Selene says and lays down Aqua Madoor (1200/2000).  
  
Yugi draws his card and add it to his hand. 'So I have Winged Dragon, Zombie Warrior, Burning Land, Celtic Guardian, Multiply, and I just drew Horn Imp. That's an okay hand.'  
  
"I play Celtic Guardian in face up attack mode and I end my turn," Yugi said and placed Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in attack mode on his Duel Disk.  
  
Gekido draws and smirked as he saw his hand. "I lay one card face down and then one card in defense mode, next person."  
  
Selene draws another card. 'Witch of the Black Forest, good card.'  
  
"Lay one card face down in defense mode, you're turn Yugi," Selene said and laid Wall of Illusion (1000/1850) face down.  
  
Yugi draws. 'Mammoth Graveyard, good this might come in handy.'  
  
"Celtic Guardian, attack Gekido's face down card," Yugi said. The image of Celtic Guardian attacked the card to reveal the Mystic Tomato (1400/1100) for a moment before it was destroyed.  
  
"You've activated Mystic Tomato's effect. When it's sent to the graveyard I am allowed to summon one Dark monster from my deck onto the field in face up attack mode." Gekido said and picked up his deck out of the disk, picked out his card, shuffled his deck, and replaced it into his disk. "I choose Marie the Fallen One (1700/1200)."  
  
Gekido draws and his smirk widened. He placed the card in his hand before calling out, "Marie, attack Celtic Guardian."  
  
The image of the black skinned and black winged girl attacked the Celtic Guardian and destroyed it. As a result Yugi's life points dropped to 3700.  
  
Selene draws her next card. 'Attack and Receive, good, this'll definitely be good.'  
  
"I activate the magic card Dark Door. This makes it where any player can only attack once per turn. Next I place one card face down and place Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) in face up attack mode and I end my turn." Selene called and placed the cards in their respective places on the disk. At the moment Yugi was looking at her as if she was crazy for making that move and Gekido was looking smug. After all, Marie was stronger than Witch of the Black Forest.  
  
Yugi draws the next card. 'It's Silver Fang, nothing that I can help Selene with. I hope she knows what she's doing by playing that card.'  
  
"I place one card in face down defense mode and end my turn," he called out and placed Winged Dragon (1400/1200) on the disk.  
  
Gekido draws and his smug look stayed. "I lay one card face down in defense mode and have Marie attack Witch of the Black Forest."  
  
The black angel dove at the purple-haired witch and destroyed it in a second. Gekido looked up, smirking, but frowned when he saw Selene smiling.  
  
"When you attacked I activated my trap card Attack and Receive which causes 700 direct damage to your life points when my life points are damaged. And since the witch goes to the graveyard I am allowed to move a monster with a defense of 1500 or less from my deck to my hand and then shuffle my deck." Selene said, smirking, and Yugi smiled in relief while Gekido almost growled as their life points dropped. His dropped to 7300 and Selene's dropped to 3400.  
  
Selene looked through her deck and pick out Dreamsprite before shuffling her deck and returning it to her disk.  
  
"Now it's my turn," she said and drew. 'Upstart Goblin, I'll save that for later.'  
  
"I place one card in face down defense mode and I think I'll end my turn," Selene said before laying Cat of Ill Omen (500/300) in defense mode on the disk.  
  
Yugi drew his card. 'Makiou the Magical Mist, this will most likely come in handy.'  
  
"I place one card face down, you're turn Gekido," Yugi said and placed Makiou the Magical Mist face down in the correct place.  
  
Gekido draws. "I place one card in face down defense position before Marie attacks Selene's 3rd face down card."  
  
The black angel attacked the card and the image of a black cat was visible for a moment before it disappeared.  
  
"You've activated my Cat of Ill Omen's special effect. When Cat of Ill Omen is revealed, even if it's just when it's destroyed, I'm allowed to select one trap card from my deck and place it on top of my deck." Selene said. She picked up her deck and flipped through her cards until she came to Just Desserts. 'Perfect,' she thought before she placed it on top of her deck and replaced her deck.  
  
Selene drew and, or course, came up with Just Desserts. "I place one card face down and place Dreamsprite (300/200) in face up attack mode, your turn Yugi." She said and laid Just Desserts face down in the magic/trap place and Dreamsprite in face up attack mode on the monster space. Yugi smiled internally when he remembered what Dreamsprite's effect was and understood why Selene did that.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Mystical Elf, good that'll help with defense.'  
  
"I place on card in face down defense mode and end my turn," Yugi said and placed Mystical Elf (800/2000) face down on the Duel Disk.  
  
Gekido drew his next card. "I place one card face down in defense mode before activating the magic card Stop Defense. I change Selene's face down defense card to face up attack and have Marie attack."  
  
The image of Aqua Madoor (1200/2000) appeared and Marie destroyed it quickly.  
  
"When you attacked," Selene said before Gekido could say anything, "I activated my trap card Just Desserts. It inflicts 500 points of direct damage to your life points for every monster you have on the field. And since you have four you loose 2000 life points."  
  
Gekido nearly growled in frustration as his life points lowered along with Selene's. Selene's lowered to 2900 and his lowered to 5300.  
  
Selene drew her next card. 'Goblin's Secret Remedy, this will be good for later.'  
  
"I place one card in face down defense position and end my turn," Selene said as she placed Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) in defense position.  
  
Yugi draws his next card, 'Good, Gaia the Fierce Knight.'  
  
"I play Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300/2100) in attack mode and have it attack Gekido's 2nd face down card," he said.  
  
The knight attacked the face down card and the image of a blue, armadillo-like creature appeared for a moment before disappearing. Gaia had destroyed the Prevent Rat (500/2000).  
  
Gekido draws. "I place one card face down and have Marie attack Dreamsprite."  
  
Gekido smirked, expecting the blue fairy to be destroyed quickly, but was shocked when Selene called out, "Dreamsprite, deflect the attack onto Wall of Illusions." And indeed Marie's attack was moved to one of the face down cards that was revealed to be Wall of Illusions (1000/1850). The moment Marie attacked it she disappeared and the card was returned to Gekido's hand.  
  
Gekido looked like he was about to shout when Selene interrupted, "When you attacked my Dreamsprite you activated her effect. Whenever she is attacked she has the ability to deflect the attack onto another one of my monsters. I chose Wall of Illusions. Marie attacking Wall of Illusions activated that special effect that stated that whatever monster attacks it is sent directly to the owner's hand and since Wall of Illusion's defense was higher than Marie's offense Wall of Illusions wasn't destroyed. In fact, because of that you're life points were lowered by the difference." And indeed, Gekido's life points had dropped to 5150.  
  
"And now it's my turn," Selene said before she drew her next card. 'Toll, that may come in handy later.'  
  
"I end my turn without doing anything," Selene said.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Curse of Dragon, that will be good with Gaia later.' "I, too, end my turn."  
  
Gekido drew his next card. "I summon Marie again in attack mode and have her attack Selene's 1st defense card."  
  
Marie attacked the card and the image of Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) was visible for a moment before it disappeared.  
  
Selene drew her card, 'Karate Man, just the card to do the job.'  
  
"I summon Karate Man in attack mode. I use his special effect to boost his attack and defense power to 2000 for one turn before it then goes to the graveyard and have it attack Marie." Selene said.  
  
A man in a yellow gi with a big afro appeared and attacked the fallen angel before disappearing himself. Gekido's life points dropped down to 4850. Instead of looking frustrated like Yugi and Selene expected, Gekido looked happy.  
  
"By sending my Marie the Fallen One to the graveyard you've activated her special effect. As long as she is in the graveyard, I gain 200 life points after each time I draw."  
  
"Fuck," Selene muttered in frustration, she'd never heard of that effect before.  
  
"It's okay Selene," Yugi said before drawing his next card. 'Good, it's Black Luster Ritual. I can use this later.'  
  
"I place one card face down before having Gaia attack Gekido's face down card," Yugi said. He placed down Black Luster Ritual onto the Duel Disk and Gaia attacked the defense card.  
  
The image of a strange, machine-like creature was visible for a moment before it disappeared. Gaia had now destroyed Claw Reacher (1000/800).  
  
Gekido drew his next card and his life points raised to 5050. "I place on monster n defense mode and end my turn."  
  
Selene drew her card, still looking upset with herself, 'Outstanding Dog Marron. It may not be strong but it can buy time if needed.'  
  
"I place on card in defense mode and end my turn," Selene said and laid Outstanding Dog Marron (100/100) in defense mode.  
  
Yugi drew his card. 'Giant Soldier of Stone, good for defense.'  
  
"I place one card in face down defense mode before having Gaia attack Gekido's face down card," Yugi said. He lay Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) face down and watched as Gaia attacked the defense monster.  
  
The image of a green genie, La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000), was visible for a moment before it disappeared, destroyed by Gaia.  
  
Gekido drew his next card and his life points raised to 5250. "I place one card in face down defense mode and end my turn."  
  
Selene draws her next card. 'Amazon Archer, this is a good card.'  
  
"I place one card in face down defense mode," Selene said, placing Earthbound Spirit (500/2000)) in defense mode, "and I end my turn."  
  
Yugi drew his next card and thought, 'Feral Imp, ok.'  
  
"I attack Gekido's face down card with Gaia," Yugi said. He watched as the knight attacked the card to reveal a small, fishtailed child, Nemuriko (800/700), for a moment before it disappeared.  
  
Gekido draws his next card and his life points increase to 5450. "I place one card face down and one monster face down in defense mode."  
  
Selene drew another card. 'Amazoness Spellcaster, good, this'll go with Amazon Archer if I get a chance to do what I want to.'  
  
"I end my turn without doing anything," Selene said as she added Amazoness Spellcaster to her hand.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Koumori Dragon.'  
  
"I attack Gekido's face down monster with Gaia," Yugi said, adding Koumori Dragon to his hand.  
  
He watched as Gaia attacked and destroyed the monster the looked like a giant pumpkin and he recognized as Pumpking the King of Ghosts (1800/2000).  
  
Gekido smirked and said, "When you attacked I activated my Enchanted Javelin trap card. My life points are now raised by the attacking monster's attack points." Yugi and Selene watched as his life points rose by 2300 points, bringing it up to 7750.  
  
Gekido drew his next card and his life points rise to 7950. "I summon Dark Jeroid in attack mode and attach Sword of Dark Destruction, making his attack points 1600. Dark Jeroid also allows me to lower the attack of any monster by 800 points until Jeroid is destroyed. I choose to lower the attack power of Gaia the Fierce Knight to 1500. Dark Jeroid, attack Gaia the Fierce Knight."  
  
Yugi winced as he watched Gaia being attacked and destroyed. His life points lowered to 3600.  
  
Selene drew her next card. 'Des Koala, this is going to be good.'  
  
"I place one monster in face down defense mode," Selene said and placed Des Koala (1100/1800) on the Duel Disk, "and I'll end my turn."  
  
Yugi drew another card. 'Beaver Warrior, ok.'  
  
"I summon Curse of Dragon in attack mode and have it attack Jeroid," Yugi said and watched as his Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) destroyed the ugly blue monstrosity formerly known as Dark Jeroid (1600/1500). Gekido's life points lowered to 7550.  
  
Gekido drew his next card and his life points raised to 7750. "I place Patrician of Darkness in attack mode and attack Wall of Illusions."  
  
They watched as a guy with blue skin and pointed ears, the Patrician of Darkness (2000/1400), appeared and attacked the Wall of Illusions (1000/1850), destroying it, before returning to Gekido's hand.  
  
Selene drew her next card. 'Man-Eater Bug, oh this is good.'  
  
"I flip Des Koala into face up attack mode, which activates its effect. For each card in your opponent's hand, they loose 400 life points. Since you have five cards, Gekido, you lose 2000 life points." Selene said. She flipped over her card to reveal a koala bear and Gekido's life points dropped to 5750.  
  
Yugi drew another card. 'Horn of the Unicorn, this'll be good for emergencies.'  
  
"Curse of Dragon attack Gekido directly," Yugi said and watched as the image of his dragon attacked Gekido directly, lowering Gekido's life points to 3750.  
  
Gekido scowled and, after pushing his snow-white hair back into place from where it had flown around slightly, drew his next card. His life points rose to 3950. "I put one card face down and summon Patrician of Darkness. Patrician of Darkness, attack Des Koala."  
  
The watched as Patrician of Darkness attacked Des Koala, destroying it. Selene's life points lowered to 2000.  
  
Selene drew another card. 'Book of the Moon, too bad I didn't get this one turn sooner, I could've at least kept from loosing life points.'  
  
"I place one card in face down defense position," she said and laid Man-Eater Bug (450/600) face down on the Duel Disk.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Monster Reborn, good I'd better save it for later.'  
  
"I place one card face down in defense mode and end my turn," he said as he laid Koumori Dragon (1500/1200) face down on the disk.  
  
Gekido drew another card and his life points raised to 4150. "I place one card face down and end my turn."  
  
Selene drew her next card. 'D.D. Crazy Beast, yes! Now I just need the cards to power this sucker up.'  
  
"I end my turn without doing anything," Selene said, adding D.D. Crazy Beast to her hand.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Magical Hats, this is a good card but it would be better if I could get the Dark Magician.'  
  
"I end my turn," Yugi said, placing the Magical Hats in his hand.  
  
Gekido drew another card and his life points raised to 4350. "I place one card face down and end my turn."  
  
Selene drew another card. 'Cat's Ear Tribe, this card won't do me much good.'  
  
"I place one monster card face down and end my turn," Selene said, placing Amazon Archer (140091000) face down in defense mode.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Mystical Moon, well it might come in handy.'  
  
"I place one card face down and end my turn," Yugi said, placing Mystical Moon face down on the disk.  
  
Gekido drew his next card and his life points raised to 4550. "I place one monster face down in defense mode and end my turn."  
  
Selene drew another card. 'Malevolent Nuzzler, good, one card that I need down.'  
  
"I place one card face down. I also flip Amazon Archer into attack mode and use her special effect to sacrifice her and Outstanding Dog Marron and inflict 1200 direct damage to Gekido's life points." Selene said, and they watched as she flipped a monster card to reveal a female archer for a moment before her and another card both disappeared. Gekido's life points lowered to 3350.  
  
Yugi drew another card. 'Brain Control, I'd better save that for later.'  
  
"I place one card face down and end my turn," Yugi said as he placed Brain Control face down onto the Duel Disk.  
  
Gekido drew the next card and his life points raised to 3550. "I place one card in face down defense position and end my turn."  
  
Selene drew her next card. 'Baby Dragon, crap, not what I needed.'  
  
"I end my turn without doing anything," Selene said as she placed Baby Dragon in her hand.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Black Luster Soldier, well, I guess this is as good a time as any.'  
  
"First I activate Black Luster Ritual and Sacrifice Winged Dragon and Koumori Dragon to summon the Black Luster Soldier. Black Luster Soldier, attack the Patrician of Darkness." Yugi said. They watched as the ritual card activated and two of the defense cards we're used to summon the Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500).  
  
Black Luster Soldier attack Patrician of Darkness but, to Selene and Yugi's surprise, the attack was deflected onto a defense creature which was revealed to be Spear Cretin (500/500). Spear Cretin was destroyed.  
  
"You didn't know about Patrician of Darkness's special ability, did you? Patrician of Darkness allows me to choose the target of my opponents attack. And since you destroyed Spear Cretin we all get to choose a monster form the graveyard and summon it in face up attack or face down defense mode." Gekido said, smirking. Gekido picked Dark Jeroid in face up attack position , lowering Black Luster Soldier's attack by 800, and Yugi chose Gaia in face down defense position while Selene chose Cat of Ill Omen and also put it in face down defense position.  
  
Gekido drew his next card and his life points raised to 3750. "I place one monster in face down defense position and end my turn."  
  
Selene drew her card and, as she did that, Gekido activated his trap card Coffin Seller. This card made it where every time Yugi or Selene had a monster sent to the graveyard they would lose 300 life points. Selene scowled and looked at the card she drew. 'Jigen Bakudan, well, only as a last resort.'  
  
"I end my turn without doing anything," Selene said and placed Jigen Bakudan in her hand.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Eye of Truth, it would come in handy if it didn't let the other person gain 1000 life points if we saw a magic card was in their hand.'  
  
"I end my turn," Yugi said, adding Eye of Truth to his hand.  
  
Gekido drew his next card and his life points raised to 3950. "I place Koumori Dragon in face up attack position. They I activate Curse of the Masked Beast and sacrifice Koumori Dragon and Lava Battle Guard to bring out Masked Beast. Masked Beast, attack the card farthest from Selene's Dreamsprite."  
  
They watched as the newly laid down Koumori Dragon disappeared along with one of the defense monster. In their place came a truly ugly beast. More ugly than the Dark Jeroid even. It was the Masked Beast (3200/1800). It destroyed Selene's card to reveal a black cat for a moment before it disappeared. As before, Selene picked up her deck, chose a trap card, placed it on top of her deck, and placed it back into its holder. Also, as a result of Coffin Seller, Selene's life points lowered to 2700.  
  
Selene drew the card she had just placed on top, Bad Reaction to Simochi.  
  
"I place two cards face down and end my turn," Selene said, placing Bad Reaction to Simochi and Upstart Goblin face down on her Duel Disk.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Beaver Warrior, that won't help much.'  
  
"I change Black Luster Soldier and Curse of Dragon to defense mode and I end my turn," Yugi said, turning the two cards sideways on his Duel Disk.  
  
Gekido drew another card and, before his life points could rise Selene activated Bad Reaction to Simochi. That meant that any effect increasing Gekido's life points would, instead, decrease them. This meant that his life points decreased to 3750. Gekido scowled as he said, "Masked Beast attack the Black Luster Soldier."  
  
They watched as the Black Luster Soldier was destroyed by the Masked Beast, causing Yugi's life points to drop to 3300.  
  
Selene drew another card. 'Reliable Guardian, nothing I need.'  
  
"I activate the magic card Upstart Goblin. It allows me to draw one card and my opponent gains 1000 life points, but since Bad Reaction to Simochi is in effect it decreases my opponent's life points by 1000." Selene said. She drew the next card in her deck, Forgiving Maiden, and Gekido's life points dropped to 2750. "Now, I place one monster in face down defense mode and end my turn."  
  
Yugi draws the next card. 'Horn of Heaven, I don't think I'll need that.'  
  
"I place one card face down and end my turn," Yugi said as he placed Eye of Truth face down on the Duel Disk.  
  
Gekido drew and Yugi instantly activated Eye of Truth. Gekido's life points first dropped to 2550 because of Marie and then he had to show them his hand and his life points dropped to 1550 because he had a magic card in his hand.  
  
"Masked Beast, attack the monster beside Selene's Dreamsprite," Gekido said.  
  
Selene smirked as the Masked Beast attacked, revealing the face down defense card to be Man-Eater Bug. Both the Man-Eater Bug and the Masked Beast were destroyed because of Man-Eater Bug's special effect. Because of Coffin Seller Selene's life points dropped to 2400.  
  
Selene drew her next card. 'Gryphon Wing, by the looks of thing I definitely won't be needing this thing.'  
  
"I play the magic card Goblin's Secret Remedy and choose to increase my life points by 600 point," Selene said and her life points rose to 3000.  
  
Yugi drew his next card. 'Dark Magician, this is good. This may be exactly what I need to beat this loser. But I think I'll wait before placing it down.'  
  
"I change Curse of Dragon back to attack mode and have Curse of Dragon attack Dark Jeroid," Yugi said as he put Dark Magician into his hand.  
  
The attack was deflected to Gekido's only defense monster thanks to Patrician of Darkness. When the attack hit, the Giant Germ (1000/100) was revealed before it disappeared. Because of Giant Germ's special effect, Yugi's life points went down to 2800 after it was destroyed.  
  
Gekido drew his next card and panicked as his life points went all the way down to 350 because of the combined effects of Marie the Fallen One, Eye of Truth, and Bad Reaction to Simochi.  
  
"I play Dark Hole," Gekido said, flipping one of his face down magic cards over. Instantly all the monsters on the field were destroyed and Yugi and Selene's life points dropped. Yugi's dropped to 2500 and Selene's dropped to 2700. "Then, I place three cards face down and place 13th Grave in attack mode. 13th Grave, attack Yugi directly." Yugi winced slightly when 13th Grave (1200/900) attacked him and his life points dropped to 1300.  
  
Selene drew her next card. 'Good draw, it's Graceful Charity.'  
  
"I activate Graceful Charity and draw three cards and discard any two from my hand," Selene said, and she did just that. She drew Heavy Storm, Armed Ninja, and Malevolent Nuzzler and discarded Amazoness Spellcaster and Gryphon. "Finally, I place one monster face down in defense mode and one card face down. I end my turn." 'Yugi should finish this jackass off. If I know him, he has something ready to do just that.'  
  
Yugi smirked as he drew another card. He knew what Selene was thinking. His card was Mystic Box, not that he'd need it now.  
  
"I play Dark Magician in attack mode. Dark Magician, attack 13th Grave." Yugi said. They watched as Dark Magician dealt the final blow. He destroyed 13th Grave and, in the process, wiped out the rest of Gekido's life points.  
  
"And the winners are Yugi and Selene!" James called from where he was standing, causing all the duelists to jump. They had forgotten that they had an audience.  
  
"Good job Yugi, Selene!" Damien said, smiling, as he rushed over to where the two were, Yami close behind. Yugi and Selene both smiled before Selene's smile faded and she collapsed into Damien's arms.  
  
"Selene," Yugi said, worried, "are you okay?"  
  
"Yes, I'll be fine, just a little tired. I think the energy boost the Priestess gave me finally wore out." She said before closing her eyes and falling fully against Damien, unconscious.  
  
Suddenly they were interrupted by not only slightly insane laughter coming from the white haired man behind Yugi.  
  
"You think this is over? Well, I may not have gotten what I wanted, but I will at least take you and you're friends down with me." Gekido said and pulled out a remote looking device with a number pad in the center. He hit three numbers and closed it. Suddenly they heard a voice echoing through the building.  
  
"Everyone evacuate the building. Restraints on the localized entrance to the Realm of Nightmares will be released in fifteen minutes. Repeat, restraints on the localized entrance to the Realm of Nightmares will be released in fifteen minutes." The robotic voice intoned.  
  
"Now everyone here will be sucked into the Nightmare Realm and it won't matter that I don't have the book!" Gekido said, insane laughter continuing.  
  
Yugi, Yami, Damien, and James looked at each other. One thought running through their minds. 'We have to get everyone out of here.'  
  
AN: Please read and review. And now that I'm done with the duel and am actually writing just the story part again, the parts should come out faster. But I guess that that all depends on how nice my teachers are. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was definitely the longest yet. 5075 words total in just the story and 5730 word in the whole damn thing. 


	15. Escape

Escape  
  
AN: Hey all, I hope you're happy about the speed at which this chapter came out. I'm not sure how fast all chapters will come out because I'm working on my other two unfinished stories as well. Anyway, thank you all for reading and reviewing.  
  
Thank you to all those who reviewed:  
  
K Yami Yugi29 (Probationis Vitae) (Heaven)  
  
*Elizabeth*Marie*Rose* (Heaven) (Probationis Vitae)  
  
Sapadu (Heaven)  
  
Yugi Mutou (Probationis Vitae) (Heaven)  
  
Nekostar 2 (Heaven) (Probationis Vitae)  
  
Thank you all and enjoy the chapter.  
  
~*~*~*~Last time~*~*~*~  
  
"You think this is over? Well, I may not have gotten what I wanted, but I will at least take you and you're friends down with me." Gekido said and pulled out a remote looking device with a number pad in the center. He hit three numbers and closed it. Suddenly they heard a voice echoing through the building.  
  
"Everyone evacuate the building. Restraints on the localized entrance to the Realm of Nightmares will be released in fifteen minutes. Repeat, restraints on the localized entrance to the Realm of Nightmares will be released in fifteen minutes." The robotic voice intoned.  
  
"Now everyone here will be sucked into the Nightmare Realm and it won't matter that I don't have the book!" Gekido said, insane laughter continuing.  
  
Yugi, Yami, Damien, and James looked at each other. One thought running through their minds. 'We have to get everyone out of here.'  
  
~*~*~*~On with the story~*~*~*~  
  
"We have to get everyone out of here," Yugi said, voicing the very thought that was running through everyone's minds.  
  
"Yes, but how? We can't carry them all by ourselves, and that's after we somehow manage to get them out of albino boy's glass tubes," Damien said, adjust Selene so that he was carrying her bridal style.  
  
"We have to find someway of breaking the enchantment on the glass," Yami said, "but how? He's using a different form of magic than what we're used to."  
  
"Let me give it a try. It's a complicated little spell I only learned recently and, if it works, it'll probably leave me drained. Meaning you'll have to find someway to lug all our asses out of this build," James said, stepping forward. He raised his arms in front of him and connected his first fingers and thumbs, spreading the rest out. Then he began to chant.  
  
"Evoco vim Vigilis.  
  
Rogo vestrum auxilium in meo penso.  
  
Commodo vim Deorum et Dearum.  
  
Adjuva dispellére protegenum septum in vitrõ.  
  
Quassa vitrõ ex interior pará  
  
Et protégé populís ex injuriá.  
  
Jam!"  
  
Suddenly the light that had been gathering in his hands shot out and split into nine different spheres and each sphere shot toward one of the glass tubes. The second the silver orb hit the glass, the glass seemed to shatter from the inside out. Yugi yelled in worry, afraid that one of his friends would be hit by a stray piece of glass. However, James seemed to have thought of that and any glass that went near anyone seemed to be stopped by some kind of barrier. The same type of magic was also blowing the glass away from the unconscious bodies of their friends.  
  
The second all the unconscious bodies landed on the floor James collapsed onto his knees. The spell had taken a lot out of him, but he had warned them about that. Now it was their turn to find some way to get them all out of the building in the next fourteen minutes.  
  
Suddenly Yugi said, "I got it! I know how we can get them all out of here."  
  
"How?" Yami asked, looking at his hikari. Yugi pulled out his deck and Yami then got the idea. Nodding at Yugi he pulled out his own deck. The both pulled out a card.  
  
"Curse of Dragon, come forth," Yugi said, drawing his Curse of Dragon card. The huge dragon appeared before them. This would easily be able to fly them all out, now they just need a way to make sure the unconscious ones wouldn't fall off or get hurt while they flew. Both Yugi and Yami could hold onto two different people, Damien could hold onto one more other than Selene, and James could currently hold himself on. That left four people who they had to work with.  
  
"Celtic Guardian, come forth," Yami said, drawing out his Celtic Guardia card. The human-sized elf appeared before them, he could probably hold two people after he sheathed his sword, which left two others.  
  
"Dark Magician, come forth," Yami said, drawing his second card. He had opted to pull out two monsters because he knew Yugi had probably had to use some shadow magic in his duel with Gekido and thus he would have more. The purple haired mage appeared before them and, at a quick request from Yami, sent his green staff into a storage pocket of subspace where he could call it forth at any time should he need it. Okay, that took care of everyone.  
  
Yugi walked over to his unconscious friends and picked up Bakura and Ryou. Yami, following close behind, picked up Jake and Jason and Damien picked up Derek. Then they stepped back and Celtic Guardian and Dark Magician came forward. Celtic Guardian picked up Malik and Marik, and Dark Magician picked up Seto and Jo. Now they just had to get up onto the Curse of Dragon.  
  
Then they heard the automated voice again, "Everyone evacuate the building. Restraints on the localized entrance to the Realm of Nightmares will be released in ten minutes. Repeat, restraints on the localized entrance to the Realm of Nightmares will be released in ten minutes."  
  
Quickly Yugi handed Bakura to Damien and hoisted himself and Ryou onto the Curse of Dragon. Then he took Bakura from Damien. Yami did something similar, but he handed Jake up to Yugi while he hoisted Jason and himself up, and then he took Jake back from Yugi. Damien did the same thing as Yami and handed Derek up before hoisting Selene and himself up. Then he took Derek from Yami. James crawled on next followed by Celtic Guardian and Dark Magician who each took a place at the front and back of the group. All in all, they weren't sure if they should be amazed that the unconscious ones didn't at least stir. Now all they had to do was blast themselves out.  
  
The mechanical voice was heard over the loud speakers again. "Everyone evacuate the building. Restraints on the localized entrance to the Realm of Nightmares will be released in five minutes. Repeat, restraints on the localized entrance to the Realm of Nightmares will be released in five minutes."  
  
Curse of Dragon lifted off and shot off a huge blast. This left a hole large enough for them through the first several walls. They flew on, blasting a new hole in the walls every time they were about to run into one. They became more and more nervous every time they heard the voice. It was broadcasting the time left every minute now. First they heard four minutes, then three, then two, and then they heard one minute. About the time they could see the exit from the latest blast they heard a thirty second warning.  
  
They were just flying out the hole when they heard the voice again. "Five seconds left. Four. Three," they were flying outside now, but barely, "Two. One."  
  
Yugi looked back as they flew away from what had very nearly become the tomb and saw a huge black ball of energy engulf the building and swiftly spread outward. He watched in panic as it got closer and closer to the Curse of Dragon and he knew that the others could sense it too. The edge of the black orb was barely inches from the end of Curse of Dragon's tail when Curse of Dragon put on a sudden burst of speed and made it far enough away. They watched as the orb expanded a little more and then contract, taking every living thing that had been absorbed by it into the Realm of Nightmares.  
  
AN: So what do you think? I appreciate all comments and criticisms. Thank you for reading this.  
  
The chant should translate to:  
  
"I call forth the power of the Watchmen.  
  
Lend me the power of the Gods and Goddesses.  
  
I request your aid in my task.  
  
Help to dispel the protective barrier on the glass.  
  
Shatter the glass from the inside.  
  
And protect the people from harm.  
  
Now!" 


	16. More Problems

More Problems  
  
Disclaimer: Do I really need to do this?  
  
Thank you to all my reviewers, you all mean a lot to me:  
  
Serenity91  
  
K Yami Yugi 29  
  
Nekostar 2  
  
GothicFoxDemon (Back to Your Heart, spin off of Trials of Life)  
  
Marleen  
  
A-TownKid (Heaven, another spin off of Trials of Life)  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
Also, I may not update for a while (I know, I know, AGAIN) because I'll be going on vacation soon. Be reassured though, I will be working on writing, or at least trying. We'll be gone the second and third week in July. We're going to Arizona (a.k.a. the Grand Canyon) though so I may not have too much time. BUT I will try.  
  
Also, here are the symbols:  
  
/...../ is Yugi to Yami.  
  
.....is Yami to Yugi.  
  
..... is Ryou to Bakura.  
  
..... is Bakura to Ryou.  
  
..... is Malik (hikari) to Marik (yami).  
  
..... is Marik to Malik.  
  
"....." is someone talking on the other end of a phone, walkie-talkie, etc.  
  
The next day woke to find a group fourteen teenagers spread out, asleep on the Mouto family living room. This group was the group of teenagers who had, just the previous night, barely escaped from having their minds trapped in their own nightmares for all eternity. That alone would wear anyone out, even if three of them are reincarnated spirits, one is a Watchman, most are professional duelists, and six are specially trained 'Robin Hood' thieves. However the sleeping group was about to have to wake-up to face the day.  
  
Yugi was the first to wake up. He slowly opened his amethyst eyes, but he quickly closed them again with a groan when he was met with sunlight in his eyes. He rolled over, only to be met with a barrier. He was met by a very warm, solid barrier that was, he found out when he cautiously opened his eyes, his Yami. Yugi smiled when he saw the relaxed face of the ex- pharaoh, it wasn't often that one could see the spirit completely relaxed. It was then that he realized that he was lying on the floor by the downstairs window, not on his bed, and for a moment he couldn't figure out why. Then the memories of what happened yesterday suddenly flooded his mind and he sat bolt upright, being careful not to accidentally jar and wake his yami.  
  
Yugi looked around and saw the unconscious forms of all his friends. The two Egyptians, Malik and his yami Marik, were lain out on the couch, Malik lying on top of Marik. Ryou and Bakura had been placed on one of the armchairs with the leg rest up, and Ryou had been placed on top of Bakura. Damien had dragged Selene to the other armchair and, after raising the leg rest, lay down on it with her on top of him. Jo and Seto were leaning against the wall to the right of the television, which was about seven feet from the couch, and Jo was cuddled up against Seto. James was sitting on the other side of the television, his odd colored eyes still closed in exhausted slumber. Finally, laying long-ways between the television and the couch was Jake, Jason, and Derek, all of them curled up around each other. All in all, it looked almost as if they were a group of friends who had partied too much and then collapsed at the closest house as soon as they could, too bad it wasn't something that innocent.  
  
Yugi sighed, knowing that he would have to get up soon to face the day. While he sat there in his silent contemplation, Yami silently stirred beside him. Ruby eyes opened to be met with the sight of his lover sitting silently in thought. A small smile spread over his face as he sat up beside Yugi and, before his hikari noticed him, wrapped his arms around his waist.  
  
"What are you thinking about tenshi?" Yami said, startling Yugi out of his thoughts with the combined force of him grabbing Yugi's waist and his words in the previously nearly silent room.  
  
"It all looks so peaceful," Yugi said quietly, gesturing around to his sleeping friends, "it's almost as if the past few weeks haven't happened. If I didn't know for sure that all that wasn't a dream, I'd almost be convinced that we'd just returned from the dance club and crashed at our place. It seems almost unreal."  
  
Yami nodded in agreement with Yugi, he could clearly see what his light half was thinking. He actually agreed with him. If it wasn't for the fact that they both knew what was going on, then he would've thought that it had been exactly as Yugi had said.  
  
Shaking the darker thoughts away for another day, Yugi suddenly stood up. At his yami's odd look, he sent a message through their link. /I'm gonna go and make breakfast. I have a feeling that they're all going to be starving when they wake./  
  
Let me help you then hikari.Yami said, following his little lover into the now bright kitchen to start to make breakfast.  
  
Bakura was the next to wake up. As his sleep-fogged brain recognized where he was, he just became even more confused. First off, he and his sleeping hikari, whom he'd identified as the weight on his chest, were both in Yami and Yugi's house when, last he remembered, they were both at the base trying to rescue Yugi's friend Selene. Second, how did he get here at all. Surely he would've remembered traveling to the ex-pharaoh's home after what must've happened. And third, what was the smell currently coming from the direction of the kitchen. It smelled like bacon, eggs, biscuits, and an arrangement of fruits. His now more active brain managed to guess that, somehow, they had managed to complete the mission, successfully if the fact that he could see Selene in this room was any indication, and somehow gotten to the Mouto household. And now the ex- pharaoh and his lover were making breakfast, he managed to deduce this when he saw everyone else that had come with them lying scattered about in the living room.  
  
Bakura had almost decided that the temptation of the smells coming from the kitchen weren't enough to lure him from his current position under his hikari when his stomach gave a loud growl. Knowing he had to get up now as his stomach would not leave him alone, he gently shook his hikari awake. As much as he wanted to let his lover sleep, his white-haired angel was probably going to be very hungry when he woke up and now a little pissed if he knew Bakura didn't wake him when the food was fresh.  
  
Ryou stirred a little when Bakura shook him, but he didn't wake up right away. Smiling softly at his hikari's attempts to stay asleep, Bakura reverted to mind speak.  
  
Ryou, hikari, it's time to wake up. Currently the pharaoh's hikari is making breakfast, and unless I'm much mistaken it's probably just finished.Bakura said, using the lure of a good breakfast to wake Ryou up. As much as he tried to, he could never cook very well. And even he admitted that the ex-pharaoh and Yugi's breakfast was really good.  
  
Ryou blearily opened his chocolate brown eyes and replied. I'm up, I'm up, but we'd probably better get the others up. Goodness only know what Jo would do if we deprived him of food.  
  
Bakura chuckled at his hikari's comment before the two of them proceeded to wake everyone else up. Jo in particular was difficult to wake up, despite Seto's help, until Bakura said that they'd just eat breakfast without him. That got him up double quick. Finally it was just Damien and Selene left to wake up. Damien was easy to wake up, but Selene just stayed unconscious.  
  
"She's probably still exhausted from what happened," Damien said, trying to cover up how nervous he was feeling, "let's let her sleep for a while."  
  
As it turns out, the while lasted all through breakfast and straight into the afternoon. At that time, they were all becoming a bit worried. They all knew how strong she was physically, the Venators and Yugi more than the others because they'd trained with her, and they couldn't believe that it was because of physical exhaustion that she wasn't waking up.  
  
When evening rolled around with no change, most of the group reluctantly left, though they promised to come by as soon as they could the next day.  
  
As soon as his friends had left, Yugi plopped down onto the couch and sighed. Yami did the same right beside him while Damien sat on the unoccupied armchair and Jason, Jake, and Derek sat on the floor in front of the television. James, who still hadn't left, was leaning against the wall behind/beside the television.  
  
"It's been a whole day," Damien said, looking at Selene's unconscious form, "and she still hasn't woken up. I'm really worried."  
  
"I checked her over for any signs of exhaustion or maybe physical trauma, but I didn't find anything. The only thing I found out was what you'd already told us about, and the bruised rib and gash on her arm from before. Both the ribs and the gash are healing and neither is the cause." Jason said, his voice showing clearly how worried and confused he was.  
  
"It may be something that they forced into her body," James said, odd eyes trained on the unconscious girl, "like a poison of sorts. For all we know, they may have injected it into her or forced it down her throat."  
  
"I'd thought of that," Jason replied, "but I don't have anything to test it with. And I'd only really be able to test it for known poisons when they might've used an original one that they'd made themselves."  
  
There was silence for a minute before it was broken by the sound of the doorbell. Yugi gave everyone a confused look, he wasn't expecting anyone tonight, and his grandpa wasn't due back until the end of the summer.  
  
Sighing, Yugi got up and headed toward the door. When he opened it, though, there was no one there. He stepped out the door and looked around the yard, which was empty and silent except for the normal sounds of the night. Finally, he looked down and saw that at his feet was a white envelope. Written in a curvy script he'd recognize anywhere, despite the fact that it had been years since he'd seen it, was his name. It was a letter addressed to him from his father.  
  
AN: I finally got it out. Please review! 


	17. Options

Options  
  
Thank you to all my loyal reviewers, you have no idea how much you mean to me.  
  
K Yami Yugi29  
  
Nekostar 2  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
And I managed to get this out so soon because the whole chapter just seemed to hit me. I think you'll like it. If I don't update within the next few weeks, it's because my family and I have headed to the Grand Canyon. Be reassured though, I will be writing. If I do get another chapter out before then, well, all the better for you.  
  
Here're the symbols you'll need this chapter:  
  
/.../ Yugi to Yami  
  
...Yami to Yugi  
  
Last time  
  
Sighing, Yugi got up and headed toward the door. When he opened it, though, there was no one there. He stepped out the door and looked around the yard, which was empty and silent except for the normal sounds of the night. Finally, he looked down and saw that at his feet was a white envelope. Written in a curvy script he'd recognize anywhere, despite the fact that it had been years since he'd seen it, was his name. It was a letter addressed to him from his father.  
  
On with the story  
  
Yugi picked up the envelope and closed the door behind him. He leaned against it, his thoughts running circles in his head. Why would his father send him a letter? Didn't he already beat Gekido, and then Gekido managed to trap himself in the Realm of Nightmares.  
  
Yugi, tenshi, are you okay?came Yami's worried voice from their mind link.  
  
/I'm okay/ Yugi said /but there was something outside that I think you all need to see./  
  
Yugi stepped into the living room when he said this to Yami and held up the note to show everyone. Then Yugi sat down on the couch, opened the letter, and read it to himself before reading it aloud.  
  
_'Dear Yugi,  
  
'You never expected to hear from me again, right? Well, think again. Right now you're probably wondering about your friend's condition. Well, she was poisoned the night after she was brought into Gekido's lair. It was an original poison that, when specially tailored to a person, didn't show up for a week, and then they only had a week left to live. They would fall unconscious for the week left. They'd be plagued by nightmares every night. And if they aren't given the antidote by the morning of the seventh day, they would die.  
  
'Why am I telling you this? Well Yugi, it just so happens that I have the only antidote available. Don't even think about making your own batch, not only would it take too long for you to make it, but you'd also have to have the recipe in the first place.  
  
'What do I want in return for the antidote? Simple Yugi, I want you to come with me. You will come and live with me, but you must leave your yami behind. You agree to stay with me until I say otherwise. If you agree, then I'll send the antidote to your friends. If you don't then you friend will die. It's up to you Yugi. I will come to get your answer at 10 o'clock the day after tomorrow. Make your choice. And don't try to send a clone or fake, I will know if you do.  
  
'Adam Mutou'  
  
_They sat in silence after Yugi finished reading the letter aloud. This was a very unexpected development.  
  
"Damn," Jake said, shaking his head. That pretty much summed up everyone's thoughts as they thought over what this letter meant.  
  
"I have to go," Yugi said, knowing that it was the only way to save Selene. His 'father' had made sure to eliminate the other option, a.k.a. making their own antidote.  
  
"You can't," Yami said. He knew what his hikari was thinking, but he couldn't just let him walk into that deathtrap alone.  
  
"I have to, it's the only way to save Selene," Yugi said, turning amethyst eyes on his lover.  
  
"No it's not," said Jason quietly, interruption Yugi and Yami and getting everyone's attention. Jake's eyes widened with comprehension and he got a mischievous glint in his eyes. Derek and Damien followed soon after. James just looked amused at Jake, Jason, Derek, and Damien's expressions, having a good idea of what they were talking about.  
  
"What do you mean, it's not the only option?" Yugi asked, knowing when his friends were up to something.  
  
"It's simple, you need to think of the options that he's eliminated and see what's left," Jason said.  
  
"He eliminated sending in a fake, stealing the recipe and making our own antidote, and you running away afterwards, and that leaves us with one option," Derek said, adding to Jason's explanation.  
  
"We bring our other skills into play," Damien said, looking at Yugi whose eyes were widening with understanding.  
  
"We bring little Yugi here out of retirement," Jake said, grinning broadly at the now fully understanding yami and hikari.  
  
"And we steal the antidote, Venator style," Yugi said, completing the idea that had formed between his former teammates.  
  
"Exactly," Jason said, amber eyes mirroring the mischievousness found in the eyes of his lovers, Damien, and Yugi.  
  
"Well," James said, reminding everyone that he was still there, "since you have this all planned out, I'll leave you on your own for now. If you need me just try and contact me through Selene's pendant. Otherwise, I have to head back to my headquarters and check in before helping to beat off the remainder of Gekido's minions that are trapping the other Watchmen in there."  
  
"Good luck, and I do hope we'll see you again," Yugi said, and his comments were echoed by his friends. Then, with only a single flash of light, James was gone.  
  
"Now," Jake said, "time to get down to the research. Yugi, can you find the blueprints for where your father is probably staying?"  
  
"Of course, I was trained by the best hacker, and I can use Seto's computer because he left it here," Yugi said, gesturing first toward Selene when he mentioned the best hacker and then toward a briefcase when he mentioned Seto's computer. "No matter how secure they try to make it, someone pretty much always leaves a small trail. I'll find it."  
  
"Good," Jason said, taking control from Jake, "Jake and I will work on the major items we'll need, and Derek and Damien can help prepare Yami who is, of course, coming with us should he so wish." Jason directed the last part to the ruby-eyed teen beside Yugi. Yami nodded in agreement.  
  
"And between times, we'll try and keep whatever symptoms from the poison that might show up and bay. We may not be able to do anything about the nightmares, but we can make Selene as comfortable as humanly possible," Derek said, knowing what else was also on everyone's minds.  
  
"Right then, it's time to show that asshole who's boss!" Jake said, punching his right fist into the air. Everyone else shouted their agreement and set about the task that they were assigned.  
  
First, Damien and Yugi took Selene upstairs where Damien changed her into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before putting her into the guest bedroom and tucking the covers around her.  
  
While Yugi went to research the blueprints, Damien and Derek briefed Yami on the basics of thieving or, as Jake liked to call it, 'borrowing without permission for an undefined amount of time.' Jake and Jason went searching around the house for anything useful to make tools out of. By the next morning, Yugi had managed to find the house, having pulled an all- nighter, and printed out the blueprints before taking a couple hours to nap. Damien and Derek continued to help Yami after checking up on Selene. Jake and Jason managed to find several things to make what they would need and what they would find amusing to use. By late afternoon, everything was ready and the Venators and two of their friends were preparing to set off on their most important mission yet.  
  
AN: So, what do you think? I was up until nearly two in the morning so that I wouldn't lose the idea for the chapter when inspiration decided to hit me with its frying pan. Anyway, please read and review. 


	18. Break ins

Break-ins  
  
AN: Hey all, I just got back today and decided to publish the two chapters I wrote while on vacation. Hope you like them.  
  
Thanks to all those who reviewed:  
  
Yugi Mutou  
  
K Yami Yugi29  
  
Quest of the Dragon  
  
Curtis Zidan Ziraa  
  
I had to change the mind-link symbols 'cause of 's new way to do it.  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami  
  
_/.../_ is Yami to Yugi  
  
Well, on with the story.  
  
**Last time**  
  
While Yugi went to research the blueprints, Damien and Derek briefed Yami on the basics of thieving or, as Jake liked to call it, 'borrowing without permission for an undefined amount of time.' Jake and Jason went searching around the house for anything useful to make tools out of. By the next morning, Yugi had managed to find the house, having pulled an all- nighter, and printed out the blueprints before taking a couple hours to nap. Damien and Derek continued to help Yami after checking up on Selene. Jake and Jason managed to find several things to make what they would need and what they would find amusing to use. By late afternoon, everything was ready and the Venators and two of their friends were preparing to set off on their most important mission yet.  
  
**On with the story**  
  
"Is everybody ready?" Jason said, amber eyes skimming over the other six black-clad figures. Jake nodded, silver-blue eyes glinting with mischievousness.  
  
"Of course we are," Yugi said, grinning with his amethyst eyes sparkling like Jake's. It had been way too long since he'd done this, he really missed it.  
  
Damien, Derek, and Yami also nodded. It was midnight, and a moonless night too. They were going to attempt to steal the antidote for Selene. They knew that if they were caught then she'd probably die, so it was imperative that they didn't fail.  
  
Damien, Derek, Jason, Jake, and Yugi (who'd kept his weapons) all carried their weapons. Yami had been supplied with a few knives and had had a rough course in how they were used. They'd work in groups of two. Damien and Derek worked together, Jason and Jake worked together, and Yugi and Yami worked together. Each group carried a walkie-talkie that Jason had put together from a set that Yugi had around the house. The main thing he had changed was the ability to scramble any attempt to listen in on that wavelength. He had also put together three grappling hooks, an alarm scrambler, and several little pranks that Jake had come up with.  
  
"Remember," Damien said, facing everyone, "if you get caught, then signal the others by hitting the button on your walkie-talkie. Either you or your partner as you two will be together the whole time."  
  
They nodded, knowing the routine.  
  
"Ready? Let's go!" Damien said, and they all moved out.  
  
When they got to the house, Derek and Damien immediately went to work on the security system. Jake and Jason moved around the house and planted little surprises all along the yard. Yugi and Yami followed close behind Derek and Damien, as they too needed to get into the house.  
  
"Got it," Derek said as they all heard a nearly inaudible click that signaled that the door had unlocked. Now came the easy part. He put the alarm scrambler up to the doorbell where it could enter the electrical system and work its way to the security system. When the small screen on the scrambler asked for the new code, Derek entered a new code and the security system turned off. When Derek, Damien, Yugi, and Yami went inside, Derek and Damien started to search the ground floor while Yugi and Yami headed up to the third floor. They knew that when Jason and Jake finished they would come along and start on the second floor.  
  
**_Derek and Damien_**  
  
The first room they searched was the study on the ground floor. Derek checked around the desk and Damien look inside small light fixtures all around the room.  
  
"Jack pot," Derek said, an evil grin splitting over his face as he pulled out a small plastic bag containing a white powder, "it's not the antidote, but it is enough to get old Pain-in-the-Ass thrown in jail for a while. It's cocaine. There's some other drugs in here as well."  
  
Damien also grinned evilly. Right now he had two goals in mind, get the antidote and get Adam Mutou, a.k.a. old Pain-in-the-ass, thrown in jail for a long, long time.  
  
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Derek said, mismatched eyes glinting mischievously.  
  
"If it includes revenge, then hell yeah," Damien said as his sapphire eyes met Derek's. After a moment they continued searching again, ideas of revenge floating through their minds.  
  
**_Jake and Jason_**  
  
"Jake, you done over there," Jason asked quietly as he carefully disguised the last filled in hole.  
  
"Just finished," Jake said, his silver-blue eyes glinting eerily in the dark. "All we have to do to set these little babies off is push this button."  
  
Jake held up a small, black box with a red button on it. The button currently had a plastic cover on it so it wouldn't go off without their consent. Jake knew from past using of similar things for pranks that that would do no good to anyone at all. It would be especially dangerous with the things they were working with now.  
  
"Time to go in and set up the rest of our revenge," Jason said, nodding toward the backpacks that both he and Jake were carrying. Both backpacks contained several items that would create an interesting commotion once they were started. The backpacks also contained several remotes similar to the one that Jake now put away. Luckily all of them had labels right under the button so they knew without a doubt which remote set off what prank.  
  
Tonight was definitely going to be fun. Fun that is, if you weren't Adam Mutou. For old Pain-in-the-Ass tonight was going to be pure and total Hell on earth, Venator style. With that thought in mind, they headed up to the second floor, shutting the door behind them.  
  
**_Yugi and Yami_**  
  
So far Yugi and Yami had searched the living room, bathroom, and guest bedroom on the third floor. And that was a lot considering the thoroughness with which they searched. Now it was time for the master bedroom. Yugi, especially, was nervous and suspicious about the fact that no one had run into Adam. He knew that if someone had then either they themselves of their partner would've buzzed everyone else. That was the reason they had partners in the first place.  
  
Yugi looked at his yami, who nodded, before he turned the handle and opened the door. The room beyond was larger than any they had yet seen. It was richly furnished with slick, leather furniture mainly, though there was a lot of steel seen too. In the far let corner, there was an ebony desk with a black leather chair. In the corner to their left, and close to them, their was a large chest-of-drawers beside a closed door that was probably the closet. To the left their was another closed door. That led to the connected bathroom. Yugi noticed several doors on each side that hadn't been listed on the blue print and made special note to watch those doors. And in the far right corner, there was an ebony bed with black sheets. And seated on that bed, with a vial containing a reddish liquid, was Adam Mutou.  
  
"Well, well, well, how did I know you would be here? You are so predictable," Adam Mutou said, smiling coldly. His brown eyes glinted evilly.  
  
AN: So, what do you think? At least you don't have to wait a week for the next chapter. Please review, I love reviews. 


	19. Final Confrontations

Final Confrontations  
  
AN: All I can say is read and enjoy.  
  
/.../ is Yugi to Yami  
  
_/.../_ is Yami to Yugi  
  
**Last time**  
  
Yugi looked at his yami, who nodded, before he turned the handle and opened the door. The room beyond was larger than any they had yet seen. It was richly furnished with slick, leather furniture mainly, though there was a lot of steel seen too. In the far let corner, there was an ebony desk with a black leather chair. In the corner to their left, and close to them, their was a large chest-of-drawers beside a closed door that was probably the closet. To the left their was another closed door. That led to the connected bathroom. Yugi noticed several doors on each side that hadn't been listed on the blue print and made special note to watch those doors. And in the far right corner, there was an ebony bed with black sheets. And seated on that bed, with a vial containing a reddish liquid, was Adam Mutou.  
  
"Well, well, well, how did I know you would be here? You are so predictable," Adam Mutou said, smiling coldly. His brown eyes glinted evilly.  
  
**On with the story**  
  
**_Derek and Damien_**  
  
Derek and Damien both jumped when they heard a sudden slamming noise. With only a simple look at each other, both Derek and Damien headed toward the staircase, where they'd heard the noise. At the bottom of the steps and all along where the handrail was, was a thick, solid steel wall.  
  
"Oh shit," Damien said, sapphire eyes noticing that there was absolutely no flaw in the steel wall.  
  
"I think this means that a fight is coming," Derek said, whipping out his daggers when he heard a mechanical noise coming from a room they hadn't had time to search yet. Damien nodded in agreement and brought out his ball and chain.  
  
Through the door came a whole horde of steel robots. Things were not looking good. Not only did the wall appear to be several feet thick, but they could also hear more mechanical sounds that had to be the robots.  
  
"Well, seems like we have been found," Derek said, before rushing into the group.  
  
Quickly he started cutting into the robots circuits, thanking the gods that his daggers were so sharp. He had rushed into the right side of the group, and Damien had rushed into the left. He started swinging the chain, the ball on the end quickly taking out several robots at once. As they fought, they could only hope that at least one of the other two groups were having better luck than they were.  
  
**_Jason and Jake_**  
  
Jason and Jake started when they too heard a sudden slamming noise. They had just gotten onto the second floor and started searching a short while ago. They both headed toward the staircase that led downwards. They saw that there were steel walls all along the handrail and another at the end. They could only guess by the fact that Derek and Damien hadn't broken through yet that it was several feet thick.  
  
"Let's check the other one," Jason said and Jake nodded in agreement. They ran to the other end of the hall and saw a solid steel wall in the entrance of the staircase. They knew from previous inspection that all the walls were concrete, and they could tell from the sounds that this staircase was probably also lined by steel.  
  
"Fuck," Jake muttered. He knew that now each team was isolated. And if the sounds from the other side of the steel wall on the staircase leading down was any indication, Derek and Damien were fighting someone or something. He could also now hear a mechanical sound coming from several rooms they hadn't checked yet.  
  
"I hear it too, I'd say something's coming. Let's get against the wall, that way we only have one direction to worry about," Jason said, pulling Jake against the wall with him. Jake pulled out several shuriken, all ready to throw, and Jason pulled out his sias. Both were ready when the robots came at them.  
  
Jake immediately started throwing the shuriken, aiming toward the chest area. He had noticed the very thin, almost invisible, line that made a small two by two inch square. He could only guess that that was the control area. Jason followed Jake's lead and aimed his hits to the same place. They could only hope that they others were okay.  
  
**_Yugi and Yami_**  
  
Yugi and Yami both turned when they heard the loud slamming noise.  
  
"Ah, I see my trap has gone off," Adam said, grinning evilly.  
  
"What's going on?" Yugi said, his amethyst eyes almost glowing with anger.  
  
"Well, I knew you would try to steal the antidote for your friend, so I arranged a little...surprise for you and your friends. Currently your friends are trapped on whatever floor they're on and you're trapped up here. And they're being greeted by my army of robots. You see, I received quite a bit of money while working with the revenge-bound fool Gekido. I also have a lot from other forms of business that I work in. So I used that money to arrange this surprise," Adam's smile grew, if possible, even colder.  
  
Suddenly, from the several unmarked doors on either side of them, came a horde of robots. Having been watching the doors, Yugi immediately drew his double sword, the favorite of his weapons. He got into a stance, side-by-side with his yami.  
  
_/Yugi/_ Yami said through the mind-link. He immediately got his hikari's attention, though Yugi kept it well hidden.  
  
/Yes Yami, what is it?/ Yugi asked back, wondering what his yami would want to tell him at a time like this.  
  
_/Go get the antidote. I can handle myself temporarily here. I did bring my deck with me, and while you may not be up to using shadow magic, my store is fresh./_ Yami said, subtly grinning at his lover.  
  
/Good idea, on three then. One/ Yugi replied, getting ready to spring on three.  
  
_/Two/_ Yami said, carefully drawing several cards from the deck hidden at his waist.  
  
"Three!" Yugi shouted and sprang into action, swinging his double sword expertly and taking down several robots at a time. At the same moment Yami summoned the Dark Magician, Celtic Guardian, and Gaia the Fierce Knight all at once.  
  
As Yugi worked his way through to Adam, Yami expertly directed the Duel Monsters to attack all the robots around him and those coming from the doors. Slowly, he got closer and closer to his ex-father.  
  
When he finally got to his father, he stood still, sword poised to give a non-fatal strike, though his father couldn't tell that judging by his face.  
  
"You really don't want to do that," Adam said, a sudden arrogant smirk appearing on his face.  
  
"Now why wouldn't I want to do this?" Yugi asked, his sword still poised.  
  
"Because with a simple toss, I could destroy the only hope you have of rescuing your friend," Adam said, holding the vial between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. That stopped Yugi short. He knew he could easily knock out his bastard of a father, but could he catch the vial before it hit the ground and shattered.  
  
"Don't listen to him Yugi," came a sudden voice from behind him. While he was busy with his father, Yugi hadn't noticed the sudden stop in the fighting behind him since a very battered and bruised looking Derek, Damien, Jason, and Jake. They had, evidently, managed to finish off the robots before expected and had also managed to get through, or past, the staircase. The voice he'd heard was Jason's. He too was holding a vial, only his was a deep blue and had a label that clearly said 'Antidote.'  
  
"I found some records on his computer on the second floor before we were trapped. They stated his plan. The vial he's holding contains an accelerator for the poison, not an antidote. The real antidote was in the hidden vault. I got it, it was ridiculously easy to break into the vault," Jason said. Yugi also saw that all the robots were gone. When he looked at his ex-father, he saw the panicked look on his face. That quelled any doubts he might've had. He swung his sword and hit his father with the dull side, knocking him out. The vial hit the floor, shattered, and the liquid spilled all over. A second later, Yugi could see a black spot appear on the carpet.  
  
"Thanks you guys," Yugi said, smiling toward the Venators and his yami.  
  
"Good news too," Jason said, "we got all the pranks set up outside and on the second floor before we were attacked."  
  
"And we found some drugs on the first floor. Enough to get him locked up for a while," Damien said, grinning evilly.  
  
"And last but not least, I called in a fake terrorist call shortly before we left so any fireworks we set off will be immediately investigated by the police. They'll have to search the house, and no doubt that they'll find the cocaine that was 'accidentally' left out." Jake said, grinning evilly, his silver-blue eyes glinting mischievously.  
  
And that's exactly what happened. They set Adam up so it looked like a piece of falling debris knocked him out. They sat him at his study on the ground floor with the bag of cocaine and the key to the desk drawer where the drugs were hidden on the desk.  
  
Two minutes away from the house, Jake pulled out the remotes and pushed the buttons. The resulting explosions were loud enough to wake the whole country, and definitely enough to get the polices' attention. And long before the police arrived, they were long gone.  
  
AN: I hope you all enjoyed these two chapters. Please review! 


	20. Morning After

Morning After

AN: Unfortunately school is coming up in a couple of days, so beware of delays.

Also, sorry all, but the **next** chapter is probably going to be the **next to last** chapter. I hate to close the story, but if I keep writing, it will get boring and I will run out of original ideas.

Anyway, thanks to all those who reviewed:

K Yami Yugi29

Curtis Zidane Ziraa

YugiMutou (CharmedBookworm)

Quest of the Dragon

Please read and review!

**Last time**

And that's exactly what happened. They set Adam up so it looked like a piece of falling debris knocked him out. They sat him at his study on the ground floor with the bag of cocaine and the key to the desk drawer where the drugs were hidden on the desk.

Two minutes away from the house, Jake pulled out the remotes and pushed the buttons. The resulting explosions were loud enough to wake the whole country, and definitely enough to get the polices' attention. And long before the police arrived, they were long gone.

**On with the story**

They didn't get back to Yugi and Yami's house until well past one in the morning. The first order of business though was to get Selene the antidote because they had no idea when exactly the poison was given to her, and then they would patch up whatever bumps and bruises they might have.

Damien was the first in the door, having taken the Jason as soon as they'd gotten out of the house. No one objected as he ran ahead, after all it was the person Damien was in love with that was poisoned. By the time the rest of the group had gotten to the guest room where they'd let Selene lay down, Damien had her head in his lap and was putting some of the antidote in her mouth and then massaging her throat, causing her to swallow. He never put too much in because he was afraid that she'd choke on it. Jason moved to help him while the others watched from the doorway. After five minutes, the whole vial was gone.

"All we can do now," Jason said, looking down at the unconscious girl, "is wait until she wakes up. That's when we can deal with whatever side effects that might linger."

The group nodded and Jason moved to have them all leave her to rest. When he turned to Damien, however, he was met by a stubborn gaze that clearly said that Damien wasn't going anywhere. Sighing, Jason nodded. He knew it would be next to impossible to drag Damien out of there unless they knocked him out, tied him up, and physically hauled him out of the room. And even then, the sapphire-eyed man would return the second he woke up.

When Jason arrived downstairs, he was met by the sight of a very worried and nervous group, though it was also obvious by their posture that every one of them was tired beyond belief.

"We might as well get some rest, Selene won't wake before morning either way, and Damien's upstairs with her. If he needs any help, he'll call us," Jason said. As much as just the words sounded like a suggestion, his tone of voice clearly stated that he would make them get rest if it was the last thing he did. Knowing it would be useless to argue, they decided to just do what he said. Though none of them was going to move far from where they were, they were too exhausted to be able to. So, Yugi and Yami laid on the chair with the footrest up, hikari on top of yami. Jason, Jake, and Derek all curled up on the floor like they had the previous night, choosing to sleep on the hard floor rather than have a stiff neck the next morning because of the awkward position sleeping on the couch would surely cause. The last thought of any of them before they fell asleep was that they hoped that everything would turn out okay.

Upstairs, Damien still had Selene's sleeping form cradled in his lap. He knew that she wouldn't awaken any time that night, but he just couldn't not be there. He had to make sure that she knew that she wasn't alone when she woke up from her nightmares, especially with what the bastard Akuma had probably done to her. He hadn't out right said what he'd done, but knowing him, the sick bastard had probably copied her father's actions. Damien almost growled at the thought. If he ever saw Akuma again, he didn't know if he'd be able to keep himself from killing him.

With a sigh, Damien relaxed. He knew those thoughts were useless now. All he could do was rest beside her and help her. And with that thought, Damien fell asleep.

The next morning, the first to stir was, surprisingly, Selene. When she first woke up, she just stared at the form of Damien above her, confused as to where she was. Then she recognized the room as Yugi's and wondered, for a moment, how she got there, before everything came rushing back to her. Quickly, quietly, and subtly so she didn't wake Damien up, she rolled out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She barely managed to lift the lid on the toilet before she emptied her stomach of anything that was in it.

Yugi awoke that morning to the sounds of quiet, almost inaudible, retching coming from the bathroom upstairs. One look around showed that the others were still completely out of it. Carefully, so as not to wake his yami, Yugi slid off the chair that they'd occupied the previous night and made his way upstairs. When he reached the top of the stairs, the sounds of retching had disappeared, but he headed to the bathroom anyway. The sight that met his eyes was one that was completely foreign to him. Selene was on the floor, sitting by the toilet, having just emptied what little was in her stomach into there and now had her arms wrapped tightly around her self with her head lowered. He could clearly see a few tearstains on her arms. Just looking at her huddled form made him think of a child.

Yugi walked up to her and slowly wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened for a moment before she recognized who he was and returned the embrace, her head still lowered.

"Selene, what happened?" Yugi said, knowing that she needed to tell someone about what had happed. Either he or Damien would be the best bet. She slowly shook her head and Yugi didn't push any further, he knew it wasn't his place, and at the moment, any pushing may just cause her to get upset and thus sick again. When her crying subsided, Selene slowly pulled back and smiled a small smile at him.

"Thanks Yugi," she said. She didn't need to say anything else, Yugi understood.

"Don't mention it, you would've done the same to me. Now, let's get up cleaned up and into some regular clothes," Yugi said. He helped her stand up before going off and getting a set of clothes from what they had bought at the mall just over a week ago. When he came back, he handed her the clothes and went downstairs to cook breakfast while she took a shower.

As Yugi cooked a large breakfast consisting of eggs (scrambled and fried), bacon, sausage, toast, biscuits, and several different pieces of fresh fruit. By the time he had finished, Yami, Jason, Jake, and Damien had made their way into the kitchen. One look at Yugi's happier profile let them know that Selene was at the very least awake. As soon as he finished, he headed upstairs to get Damien, who was still asleep, and Selene, who he met in the hallway.

"I'll get Damien," Selene said, looking lots better after her shower.

Yugi nodded and said, "Are you okay?"

Selene knew he was talking about more than just physically. After a moment she said, "Not completely, but I will be, and don't worry, I will talk to Damien." Yugi smiled and nodded again.

He went downstairs and sat down to eat. A few seconds later, Selene and Damien joined them, causing everyone, except Yugi who'd already known that she was awake, to relax slightly. Everything was fine for now, and there was no need to discuss what had happened. For now, they could just pretend that nothing out of the ordinary had every happened.

When they finished, they all sat in silence for a moment before Selene spoke up.

"So, what are we going to do today?" she asked. She refused to just sit around all day.

Jake was the first to speak up, "Well, since we had to cut dancing short last week, how 'bout we try something else. We could go to one of the karaoke bars and rent a room for just the seven of us. How does that sound?"

After a moment everyone nodded. The rest of the morning they spent getting ready to go after Yugi made reservations at the only bar that wasn't completely booked. And the only reason he got that was because the guy working there recognized his name (he was famous because of his win in Battle City, Duelist Kingdom, and in various other matches) and immediately booked the last room. As much as he hated the attention he got because of it, being well known did have its advantages at times.

That afternoon they headed out. For tonight they were going to be just regular people looking for a good time.

AN: So, what do you think? Please review.

If anyone has any song they'd like someone to sing, then just name the song, artist/album, and who you want to sing it in your review and I'll consider it. And I will credit song ideas to those who gave them to me.


	21. Karaoke

Karaoke 

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of the songs I used/will use. Everything you don't recognize as belonging to someone else, belongs to me.

Um...sorry this took so long...it turned out 9356 words for just this half of the chapter. Please read and enjoy!

Thanks for the reviews from:

Kiyama Mae Kawakami

CharmedBookworm

Quest of the Dragon

And anyone who wishes to yell at me for the wait has my full permission! I'M SO SORRY!

**Last time**

Jake was the first to speak up, "Well, since we had to cut dancing short last week, how 'bout we try something else. We could go to one of the karaoke bars and rent a room for just the seven of us. How does that sound?"

After a moment everyone nodded. The rest of the morning they spent getting ready to go after Yugi made reservations at the only bar that wasn't completely booked. And the only reason he got that was because the guy working there recognized his name (he was famous because of his win in Battle City, Duelist Kingdom, and in various other matches) and immediately booked the last room. As much as he hated the attention he got because of it, being well known did have its advantages at times.

That afternoon they headed out. For tonight they were going to be just regular people looking for a good time.

**On with the story...**

It was a quarter after six before they arrived at the "Starry Night Karaoke Bar." As soon as they went inside, they were immediately led back to one of the bigger rooms

"Wow," Jake said as they stepped into the room and looked around. All the others had to agree. While they had seen fancier places, they had to admit that this room was really good, especially since they'd only reserved the room that afternoon. The room was painted a royal blue color with silver swirls painted all over the walls at random spots. The karaoke machine stood on a platform directly across from the stage with the microphone was standing right in the center. They also saw some extra microphones sitting beside the karaoke machine, six extras to be exact.

"If you need anything else, just push this button," the guy who led them back gestured to the red button beside a set of light switches. After he saw them nod and took their first orders, he left the room, closing the door behind.

After a moment of silence Jake grinned and shouted, "I'M GOING FIRST!" And everyone else was very glad that the room was made so no one outside the room could hear them, otherwise Jake could easily get them kicked out with how loud he was.

Jake quickly ran up to the stage and over to the song selector. Jason, Derek, Damien, Selene, Yugi, and Yami all sat down on the half-circle couch.

After clicking the buttons for a few minutes Jake's face spit into a grin and hit one more button before moving to the center of the stage. Jason quickly moved to the light switches and managed to turn down all but the stage light.

Jake grinned, silver-blue eyes glinting with humor, and said into the microphone as he picked it up, "I would like to dedicate this song to our dear, _dear_ friend, Adam Mutou." A moment later and music started, and Jake sang along with the lyrics.

_"Since you've been gone_

_Well I feel like I've been chewing on tinfoil_

_Since you've been gone_

_It's like I got a great big mouthful of cod-liver oil_

_Well, I'm feeling like I stuck my hand inside a blender and turned it on_

_You know I've been in a butt load of pain_

Since you've been gone" 

Jason, Derek, Damien, Yugi, and Yami all looked at each other in confusion. This song almost made it sound like he missed Adam, but judging from Jake's grin and the fact that Selene was trying to stifle her laughter, that wouldn't be the case.

Selene, for her part, had heard him playing this song a few times when she'd had to go drag him from his room because he'd been late for training. She also wasn't going to spoil the surprise for the others.

_"(Since you've been gone)_   
_I couldn't feel worse if you dropped A two-ton bowling ball on my toes_

_(Since you've been gone)___

It couldn't hurt worse if you shoved a red-hot cactus up my nose" 

Jake, himself, was having a hard time not bursting out in laughter at the sight of all his friends', minus Selene's, confused faces at the lyrics of the song he'd chosen, and Selene's bottled laughter was funny enough in itself because that was a sight rarely seen with her. That was the whole reason he'd chosen this song. It was definitely one of his favorites by Weird Al.

_"Since you've been gone_

_Well, it feels like I'm getting _

_Tetanus shots everyday_

_Since you've been gone_

_It's like I've got an ice cream headache_

_That won't go away_

_Ever since the day you left me_

_I've been so miserable my dear_

_I feel almost as bad as I did_

_When you were still here!"_

At that, the whole room burst into laughter. Selene and Jake finally letting go of the hysterics they'd been holding in and everyone else because they finally knew why Jake had chosen that particular song to dedicate to Yugi's 'father.'

"That was brilliant," Selene gasped out between laughs, wiping tears of laughter from her emerald eyes. "That was the perfect song Jake."

Jake, having finally gotten over his hysterics, said while jumping off the slightly raised platform, "I know. I _am_ a genius." His jokingly pompous air just caused those who'd gotten some degree of control over their laughter to lose it immediately, and his indignant and hurt expression at their laughter didn't help the matter at all.

The thing that finally got their attention was a knocking on the door. Jake, being the only one not laughing every few seconds, went to open it and came back around the couch with their drinks.

"Okay, who's next?' Jake said, picking up his Coke.

"I'll go next," Derek said, light brown face out of his face. He stood up and walked to the stage. He grinned as he flipped through the list of songs, and finally he saw one he really liked, he'd heard it on the radio once and had been sure to get the name of the song. It had fit Jake perfectly.

Derek hit the select button and moved over to the microphone. As the guitar music he recognized from the beginning of the song started up he said, "I would like to dedicate this to someone we all know and get annoyed with...Jake."

_"All day staring at the ceiling_

_Making friends with shadows on my wall_

_All night hearing voices tell me_

_That I should get some sleep_

_Because tomorrow might be good for something_

_Hold on_

_Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown___

And I don't know why" 

Everyone but Jake immediately started to snicker quietly. Much as he wasn't that crazy, they knew that it was hilariously like something Jake would do just to freak someone out.

_"But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell_

_I know right now you can't tell_

_But stay a while and maybe then you'll see_

_A different side of me_

_I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired_

_I know right now you don't care_

_But soon enough you're gonna think of me_

_And how I used to be...me"_

Jake looked indignant to the jab at his sanity, but it was all for show. He knew exactly what they were talking about, even he knew he went a little crazy at times. How else could you classify toying with his dagger earring like he wanted to throw it at the source of his irritation when he was pissed off?

"_I'm talking to myself in public_

_Dodging glances on the train_

_And I know, I know they've all been talking about me_

_I can hear them whisper_

_And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me_

_Out of all the ours thinking_

_Somehow, I've lost my mind"_

With that verse, a certain memory came to the forefront of everyone's mind. It was when the Venators had visited Yami and Yugi and they'd all gone to the mall. Selene, knowing it would prove to be amusing, had dared Jake to act like he was talking to someone that wasn't there in the middle of the crowded mall, and he had to do so loudly. Jake, being Jake, had accepted that dare.

One woman in particular had actually taken out her cell phone and had started to dial the number of, presumably, the nearest hospital, when Yugi had intervened, telling her that their friend was already on medication and been released for the day. The woman had given the laughing teenagers an indignant and horrified look before walking away in a huff.

"_But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell_

_I know right now you can't tell_

_But stay a while and maybe then you'll see_

_A different side of me_

_I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired_

_I know right now you don't care_

_But soon enough you're gonna think of me_

_And how I used to be_

_I've been talking in my sleep_

_Pretty soon they'll come to get me_

_Yeah, they're taking me away"_

Another time, Jake had done the same thing at a bookstore, but no one had seen the person who'd called the hospital. They'd spent hours that day trying to convince the doctors that they were playing and that Jake _wasn't_, in all actuality, certifiable. Though afterwards they'd all expressed their doubts to Jake about that.

"_But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell_

_I know right now you can't tell_

_But stay a while and maybe then you'll see_

_A different side of me_

_I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired_

_I know right now you don't care_

_But soon enough you're gonna think of me_

_And how I used to be_

_Yeah, how I used to be_

_How I used to be_

_Well, I'm just a little unwell_

_How I used to be_

_How I used to be_

_I'm just a little unwell!"_

Everyone burst out laughing as the song ended. Even Jake couldn't help it even though the song had been sung to make fun of his past antics. Given the chance, he'd do the same to anyone of the others.

After a few moments, they managed to get a relatively decent hold on themselves and Derek put the microphone down before heading over to the couch where they were all sitting.

"Well then," Derek said, taking on an impatient tone that sounded nothing like him, "who would like to grace us with their singing voice now?"

Everyone laughed for a moment and Derek took that time to take a sip of the Dr. Pepper he'd ordered. He had a strange feeling that he would be going up again very soon.

Jake suddenly grinned. He ran up to the stage and scrolled down to a song he knew would be perfect for what he had in mind. Before selecting the song, he ran over to the speakers and plugged in two more of the microphones and dragged them over to the center with the third. Then he ran off stage and grabbed the startled Jason by the arm while saying, "C'mon, you're coming up with me."

Despite many protests on the blonde's part, he was still dragged up on stage and a microphone was forced into his hand. Everyone else, meanwhile, was laughing at the amber-eyed boy's misfortune. That is, Derek was laughing until Jake came up to him and dragged him up on stage as well, stuffing a microphone in his hand in the same manner he'd done to Jason just moments ago. Jake finally took up the third mike and said while moving near the machine so he could hit the start button.

"We will now sing a very odd edition of 'Another One Rides the Bus,'" and hit the start button. Immediately the music started and he moved back to his place between the shocked Jason and Derek. Jake started singing to the first verse.

"_Riding in a bus down the boulevard,_

_And the place was pretty packed_

_Couldn't find a seat, so I had to stand_

_With the perverts in the back_

_It was smelling like a locker room_

_There was junk all over the floor_

_We're already packed in like sardines_

_But we're stopping to pick up more_

_Look out!"_

Jake nudged both Derek and Jason as he was singing and this seemed to get them out of their shock because they joined in at the next part, just like he'd planned.

"_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_And another comes on_

_And another comes on_

_Another one rides the bus_

_Hey!_

_He's gonna sit by you_

_Another one rides the bus!"_

Jake looked pointedly at Damien as they sang together and he got the silent message. He was singing the next verse.

Everyone else, meanwhile, was still stifling snickers at the fact that Jake, who was smaller than either of his two lovers, but he'd managed to drag both up on stage without any trouble.

"_There's a suitcase pocking me in the ribs_

_There's an elbow in my ear_

_There's a smelly old bum sitting next to me_

_Hasn't showered in a year_

_Well, I think I'm missing a contact lens_

_I think my wallet is gone_

_And I think this bus it stopping again_

_To let a couple more freaks get on_

_Look out!"_

As Derek finished his verse, all three prepared to sing the next part. It was a silent agreement that Jason would sing the last part.

The song also brought back memories of when they'd all been crammed into a bus while visiting Yugi. All seven, Yugi and Yami included, had wanted to go to the movies and the nearest movie theatre that showed what they wanted to see was playing across town. They, being the _brilliant_ people they were, had decided to ride the bus. After all, how bad could the public transportation be here? Obviously a lot worse than they'd anticipated. They'd all been forced to the back of the bus because all the seats were taken. Unfortunately, they'd gotten on a bus that hadn't been cleaned since gods only knew when. It had smelled like a mix of spoiled milk, a locker room, and, most disturbingly and disgustingly, a very faint trace of sex. They'd decided to walk home after that.

"_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_And another comes on_

_And another comes on_

_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_Hey!_

_He's gonna sit by you_

_Another one rides the bus_

_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_Another one rides the bus-ow_

_Another one rides the bus-hey, hey_

_Another one rides the bus-hey-y-y-y!"_

Selene smiled as she gazed up at the three lovers on the stage. They were all so different, but at times like this she could clearly see why they were together. They just seemed to fit despite looking and, at times, acting completely different.

Jason took a deep breath as he got ready to sing his verse. Mentally, he was cursing Jake for dragging him up here against his will.

"_The window doesn't open, and the fan is broke_

_And my face is turning blue_

_I haven't been a crown like this_

_Since I went to see The Who_

_Well, I should've got off a couple miles ago_

_But I couldn't get to the door_

_There isn't any room for me to breath_

_Now we're gonna pick up more, yeah!"_

All three of the men on the stage got ready as the last part came up, two mentally thanking the gods that Jake had, at the very least, chosen a song that they knew well.

"_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_And another comes on_

_And another comes on_

_Another one rides the bus-ah_

_Hey!_

_He's gonna sit by you_

_Another one rides the bus!"_

Everyone off stage clapped and laughed as the song finished and Jake took the hands of Jason and Derek before bowing deeply, causing the other two, who were taller than him, to bend down if they didn't want their arms to be pulled out of socket. Finally they all managed to get off stage, though Jake looked reluctant to allow the other two to do so. He'd obviously had fun dragging the two up on stage.

Jason and Derek both sat down, glaring good-naturedly at their partner. They would get him back later.

"Hey Jake!" Yugi yelled, jumping up and moving to the red head. He whispered quietly into Jake's ear. Jake's face immediately broke into a grin and he nodded. Yugi moved up on stage and unplugged one of the microphones and coiled up the wire while Jake moved over to the computer and started looking for the song that Yugi had suggested.

Meanwhile, someone had knocked on the door again and this time Selene got it. She took the four pizzas from the guy and closed the door again. They'd ordered one cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, a meat pizza with sausages and pepperonis, and an ultimate with everything but peppers and anchovies on it. She set it down as the music started. Yugi was the first to sing.

"_Uh huh...extra cheese_

_Uh huh, uh huh...save a piece for me_

_Pizza party at your house_

_I went just to check it out_

_Nineteen extra larges_

_What a shame_

_No one came_

_Just us eating all alone_

_You said 'Take the pizza home'_

'_No sense letting all this go to waste'_

_So then I faced_

_Pizza all day_

_And everyday_

_This cheese around the clock_

_Is getting me blocked_

_And I sure don't care_

_For irregularity"_

Jason and Damien nearly chocked on their own pizzas they were eating. Everyone started laughing because this song also reminded them of an instance when they'd been visiting Yami and Yugi and Jo had come over.

They had ordered cheese pizza that night for dinner, and all eight pizzas had gotten eaten, most by the black holes that made up Jo's and Jake's stomachs. Jake, fortunately, had remembered to take some stomach medicine right afterwards. Jo, though, hadn't. He had spent a few hours of the next day bent over the toilet seat because he'd eaten too much pizza to cope with the ice cream they'd eaten afterwards. Needless to say, Jo was more careful after that.

Jake grinned as he prepared to sing the next part with Yugi.

"_Tell me_

_Why'd you have to go and make me so constipated?_

'_Cause right now I'd do anything just to get my bowels evacuated_

_In the bathroom...I sit and I wait and I strain_

_And I sweat and I clench and I feel the pain_

_Oh, should I take laxatives or have my colon irrigated?_

_No, no, no"_

Yugi nodded at Jake as they finished the chorus. Jake was going to sing the next. He also planned a little surprise, it was perfect timing.

"_I was feeling pretty down_

'_Till my girlfriend came around_

_We're just so alike in everyway_

_I gotta say_

_In fact, I just thought I might_

_Pop the question there that night_

_I was kissing her so tenderly_

_But woe is me_

_Who would've guessed_

_Her family crest_

_I'd suddenly spy_

_Tattooed on her tight_

_And son-of-a-gun_

_It's just like the one on me!"_

As Jake sang the last line, he pulled down the right side of the collar on the red sleeve-less shirt he was wearing to reveal the sun wrapped around the moon tattoo that was tattooed on each of the Venators and Yugi right beneath the right collar bone. It was one way to distinguish friend from enemy. The tattoo was made of a special kind of ink that was created by the group Selene and everyone worked for. It made sure that no one could impersonate someone and try to sneak in.

Everyone cracked up at this. Each of the Venators had, at one point in time, made several cracks at the tattoos, Jake especially seemed to joke about those things.

Yugi and Jake prepared to sing the last part together. Since there were only three verses they would sing the third one together.

"_Tell me_

_How was I supposed to know we were both related_

_Believe me, if I knew she was my cousin we never would've dated_

_What to do now? Should I go ahead and propose_

_And get hitched and have kids with eleven toes_

_And move to Alabama where that kind of thing is tolerated?_

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no_

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no_

_No, no, no, no, no"_

Selene felt a faint flush appear on her face at the eleven toes comment, and everyone else just laughed. This was funny because it reminded them of one time when the Venators had dragged Yugi and Yami halfway around the world to visit Las Vegas a year ago. Jake, Damien, and Yugi had convinced them all to go to the local hypnotist. Jake had _volunteered_ Selene to go up there. They had a 'Shake Your Booty' contest, had them act like dogs with the girl up on stage being the owners, and at one point had Selene counting her fingers and toes while she couldn't say the number five. She'd been teased afterwards and they even bought a video of the performance, but they backed off when Selene had _casually_ mentioned some blackmail pictures she just _happened_ to have several copies of, all stored in very safe locations. The humiliation of the video she could live with, especially with much more embarrassing pictures of the others posted all over the internet, handed out to all the people who also worked with the group, and shown in any other very visual way she could think of. Not that any of the others believed she would do that, they just didn't feel like teasing her anymore. That was all.

"_I had so much on my mind_

_I thought maybe I'd unwind_

_Try out that new roller coater ride_

_And the guide_

_Said not to stand_

_But that's a demand_

_That I couldn't meet_

_I got on my feet_

_And stood up instead_

_And knocked off my head, you see_

_Tell me_

_Why'd I have to go and get myself decapitated?_

_This really is a major inconvenience, oh man, I really hate it_

_Such a drag, now...can't eat, I can't breath, I can't snore_

_I can't belch or yodel anymore_

_Can't spit or blow my nose or even read Sports Illustrated_

_Oh no_

_Why'd I have to go and get myself all mutilated? (yeah, yeah)_

_I gotta tell ya, life without a head kinda makes me irritated_

_What a bummer_

_Can't blink, I can't cough, I can't sneeze_

_But my neck is enjoying a pleasant breeze now_

_Haven't been the same since my head and I were separated_

_No, no, no!"_

Jake and Yugi both bowed as they finished the song. Everyone clapped while laughing, clearly enjoying the song that referred to several very funny memories. Jake even commented on it.

"So," Jake said a grin threatening to split his face while he walked over to the fiery tempered girl, "what did you think of our song? I especially liked the bit about the guy getting married to his cousin. You know, and have kids with eleven toes?"

Selene's right eye twitched slightly and she glared before a very evil grin suddenly spread over her face. She stood up, pushed the now very scared Jake against the wall, and jammed her two inch heal, boot clad foot into his stomach, just enough to pin him there. Then she said while smiling in a very innocent yet very, very scary way, "I suggest you back off. Other wise I will personally remove _this_," she jammed the edge of her heal into his groin lightly for a second before moving back to his stomach, "with a blunt, wooden, splintery spoon. First," she leaned over to whisper so only the red head would hear, "I'll carve off your balls, and then I carve off you dick. After that, I'll lay you on a bed of red-hot needles that will slowly dig deeper and burn your flesh while I carve out your bowels with the spoon I used to castrate you," she moved her head back in said in her regular voice, "understand?' Jake nodded and she smiled before taking her foot off his stomach.

As she turned to walk away, Jake, who knew he would get killed for what he said next but thought it would be worth the pain, said, "You don't have to get mad at me just because you can't count."

Selene's whole body froze for a moment before she turned around and tackled him. The two wrestled for a moment before Selene managed to pin Jake face down on the ground. She was straddling his back and had him in a not yet tightened chokehold where her right arm was against the front of his neck and her left was across the back. Both hands holding the opposite arms' elbow so all she had to do was move her fists slightly and he wouldn't be able to breath, but she wouldn't kill him of course. Unfortunately for Jake, both of his arms were pinned under his body from where he'd attempted to protect his groin because he was afraid of Selene's very hard knee.

"You give up?" Selene asked, still not choking her teammate.

Jake nodded as best he could with his face shoved into the ground and his neck in the chokehold.

Selene released him from the chokehold she had on him and stood up while smiling. "Good," she said before moving back to sit on the couch. Jake stood up, a silly smile gracing his features. He'd gotten the exact reaction he'd been going for.

For the next twenty minutes, the all sat around and ate while discussing different memories that came to mind while the songs had been going on. It wasn't until Derek looked over at Jason and saw him finishing off his second Cherry Coke that a grin spread over the brown and scarlet-eyed man's face. That gave him inspiration for a song to sing, dedicated to Jason of course.

"What are you doing?" Yami asked as he watched the brunette stand up and head over to the song selector. Derek just threw a grin over his shoulder and climbed up onto the stage and scrolled up to the song he wanted, he'd seen it when he went after the song 'Unwell' earlier.

After finding the song, Derek moved to unplug one of the two microphones from the speakers and coiled up the cord. Then he took up the remaining microphone and moved over to the computer. Before he hit the button he said into the microphone, "This song shall be dedicated to our sometimes quite caffeine addicted friend, Jason!" And he hit the select button and the fast tempo music started immediately.

"_Oh yeah..._

_Coming at ya..._

_I'm addicted to stress_

_That's the way that I get things done_

_If I'm not under pressure then I sleep too long_

_And I hang around like a bum_

_I think I'm going nowhere and that makes me nervous_

_Everybody's out to get me but I feel all right_

_Everybody's out to get me but I feel all right_

_Everybody's out to get me but I feel all right_

_Everybody's thinking 'bout me_

_It's the little things that get you_

_It's the little things that get you when you weren't paying attention_

_It's the little things that get you_

It's the little things that get you when you weren't paying attention" 

Immediately everyone cracked up. Jake, who had been taking a swallow of his Coke at the time, even had some Coke start to come out of his mouth he was laughing so hard. Jason, however, just flushed slightly. He remembered exactly why Derek had dedicated this song to him.

"_Trying to cut down on my caffeine consumption_

_So when I get up I just have one cup of coffee_

_And I like to have another cup of coffee with my breakfast_

_And on the way to work I like to get a cup of coffee_

_Like the kind of cup of coffee that you get with the donuts_

_But I never get the donut I just have the cup of coffee_

_And when I get to work I have a cup of coffee_

_Cause I like to have coffee when I'm talking on the phone_

_But it usually grows cold and I need to get another cup of coffee_

_And its lunch, and I have an espresso_

And when I get back its not morning anymore so I have 

_A diet cola and another diet cola_

_But then I'm feeling fine and I'm feeling pretty sharp_

_And feeling pretty wired and I'm getting things done_

_But right about two I get this little tiny migraine_

_It starts behind my eyes and it moves to the back of my neck_

_And it moves to the bottom of my spine_

_But it doesn't get there until 5 or 6 o'clock_

_Which is the end of the day so I'm fine!_

_So I'm fine so I'm fine_

_Except when I have to work late when I have to work late_

_Which I usually do"_

Jason loved to tinker with different things to find out how they worked, how to make them better, and how to use them for something completely different. As such he would, at times, rely solely on caffeine to keep himself up at night. That, as they all recalled (Yami knew because Yugi showed him the memory), could prove disastrous.

"_I'm addicted to stress_

_That's the way that I get things done_

_If I'm not under pressure then I sleep too long_

_And I hang around like a bum_

_And I think I'm going nowhere and that makes me nervous_

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

_Everybody's thinking about me!_

_((Talking to trumpet player))_

_Hey, how ya doing... _

_Looking good... _

_You been working out? Yeah I can tell... _

_Alright... see ya later..."_

Jason had been up for three nights in a row once when he'd been completely immersed in a project. He'd relied on Cokes and coffee to keep him awake and moderately aware of what he was doing. When he had just about finished the project, Jake had brought him another cup of coffee. What he hadn't known was that Jake had purposely put _a lot_ of sugar in it. In the resulting energy boost, he'd finished the project in record time before proceeding to annoy the living shit out of the group because he couldn't settle down. It was a unanimous decision that Jake was never allowed to make coffee for anyone...ever again.

"_I love to work I love to run I love to play real hard_

_I love to steal little things from the grocery store_

_Like a piece of bubble gum or sometimes I just stick_

_My thumb in a peach and leave it there_

_I love to work I love to run I love to water-ski snowboard_

_Jet ski skydive parasail hang glide rollerblade mountain bike_

_Bungee jump well I mean I'd love to do these things if I ever had the time_

_I love to work I love to work I love to workout after work_

_I love to spend a little time with this woman I'm seeing_

_Except uh, we never get the time to spend together_

_So we call each other up and we talk about work_

_But I think id really love is to get up by myself on a tiny little island_

_In the middle of the ocean with just me a book and a cellular phone_

_And a personal computer in case something came up_

_And I'd eat and I'd drink and I'd run and I'd sleep_

_And I wouldn't do nothing but swim all day_

_Except I don't know how to do laps in the ocean_

_Where there are sharks! Where there are sharks! Where there are sharks!_

_And there's this kind of anemone that sticks in your foot_

_And the poison goes up to your brain and you die_

_And sand fleas! Sand fleas! Yuck!_

_But actually I think would be really relaxing_

_Just me by myself in the middle of the ocean_

_And that's what I'd really like to do more than anything else_

Except I'd probably hate it" 

Derek inwardly laughed as he saw his slightly shorter lover flush a light crimson color. He could also tell by the looks on everyone's faces that they remembered the exact memory that he wanted them to. That had been one hilarious ordeal.

"_I'm addicted to stress_

_It's the way that I get things done_

_If I'm not under pressure then I sleep too long_

_And I hang around like a bum_

_And I think I'm going nowhere and that makes me nervous..._

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

_Everybody's thinking about me!_

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

_Everybody's out to get me, but I feel alright_

Everybody's thinking about me!" 

Derek bowed and set down his microphone before hopping off the stage. Jason glared and tackled him as soon as he landed on his feet. Everyone else just sat cheering as the two young men wrestled playfully. After a moment, Jake jumped up and joined them. The small wrestling match finally ended with Selene, Yugi, and Damien moving to separate them before they decided that there were better things they could be doing while tangled up on the floor rather than wrestling. Jake in particular seemed disappointed. Apparently he was just about to start that too.

After they dragged all three young men to the couch, Yugi suddenly seemed to perk up with an idea. He gestured toward Selene to get her attention, and he leaned over to whisper something in her ear. Selene very suddenly looked like she wanted to burst out laughing but managed not to. She nodded before moving back to the stage, much to the confusion of everyone else.

Selene jumped onto the stage and walked quickly over to the song selector. After scrolling for a minute, while everyone but Yugi was looking at her confused, she smiled and went to pick up the microphone before hitting the select button.

Instantly some upbeat music started. They recognized the tune they'd once heard from the radio, but they couldn't remember the song. After a few moments of upbeat music, the lyrics started and Selene sang along, emerald eyes glinting with suppressed humor.

"I won't tell you what I'm thinking 

'_Cause it's not the same thing you're thinking too_

_You could say I got a best friend_

_And she's always telling me what to do_

_She's out of sight but easy to find_

She's in the front of my mind" 

Everyone recognized the reference to the voice Selene quite often joked about having that warned her of what certain people were like. It also warned her when something was about to happen. Everyone of the group had something similar (though the thing actually existed between Yami and Yugi), but other than Yami and Yugi's mind link, Selene's was probably the strongest voice. But what was so hilarious about this song?

"_The little voice in my head won't let me forget_

_The little voice in my head is never mislead_

_All of this noise is what keeps me from making a mess_

The little voice in my head just won't let me get with you" 

Everyone started having to stifle snickers right then. Selene's _voice_ often told her how to react to certain situations and while she could control it sometimes, push it too far and it will be a very painful experience. They all remembered a time while the Venators had gone to the mall with Yami and Yugi. Selene had been standing outside while Damien was in the bathroom, Yugi and Yami were paying for some cards they'd bought, Jake was across the street looking at joke stuff, and Jason and Derek were with Jake to make sure he didn't get into _too_ much trouble.

Unfortunately, one poor young teenager spotted Selene and thought she was alone and up for grabs. Boy was he mistaken. The cocky orange-haired idiot strode right up to her and started to flirt with her. She told them later that she had tried to tell the guy to back off but he wouldn't listen. Right at the moment Damien rounded the corner on his way back and everyone else had been exiting his or her respective shops, there was a huge commotion. Evidently, Selene had ended up twisting the guy's arm around his back and dislocating his shoulder when he had tried to put his arm around her, thinking she was playing hard to get. Needless to say, no one but her own group dared approach her after that.

"When I see you I admit 

_I start to lose my grip and all of my cool_

_You smell so sweet just like my perfume_

What have you been doing since I left you   
You're always here in my thoughts   
But that doesn't mean that it's on" 

And that reminded them of another time that Selene's voice had gotten the best of her. It was after they'd gone clubbing on the of the Venators first visits to Yami and Yugi. They were walking back and it was rather late at night. Suddenly, a woman dressed in what had to be simply two pieces of cloth, just enough to cover what had to be covered, came out of the shadows and started to flirt with Damien as he was up front. From what they could guess in the short time the woman was conscious, she was a prostitute and was trying to sell her _goods_ to Damien. This, to say the least, had pissed Selene off to no end. Selene had very nicely tapped the woman on the shoulder and when she turned around to glare at Selene, Selene reeled back and punched the woman right in between the eyes. Everyone had stared in shock as Selene calmly picked up the now unconscious prostitute and walked back the way they came. She came back a moment later with her arms empty. They could only guess that she's given the woman to the bouncer of the club so he could get her to the police.

"_The little voice in my head won't let me forget_

_The little voice in my head is never misled_

_All of this noise is what keeps me from making a mess_

_The little voice in my head just won't let me get with you_

_I know I sound insane, like I'm playing games_

'_Cause all I really want is you_

_But there are some things a girl won't do_

_The little voice in my head won't let me forget_

_The little voice in my head is never misled_

_All of this noise is what keeps me from making a mess_

The little voice in my head just won't let me get with you" 

Selene bowed as she walked off stage. The guys cracked up at her prim and proper act after she'd just sing such a song. Selene cracked a grin and said, "Okay, who's next?"

"I know, I know!" Jake suddenly shouted and he leaned over and started to whisper in Yugi's ear. Yugi's amethyst eyes lit up with suppressed glee. This was going to be fun. Selene threw a cautious look at the two plotting men, as did the other three.

"Hikari?" Yami asked cautiously, he never knew what to expect when Yugi got that glint in his eyes.

Yugi suddenly turned to Yami and stood up. He made his eyes wide and innocent and said, "Come on Yami, please, just one song?"

Yami gulped and just stood up, knowing better than to fight Yugi when his tenshi was bound and determined to do something. Yugi smiled gleefully and dragged his Yami onto the stage, shortly followed by Jake, Jason, Derek, Selene, and Damien (who was dragged up by Selene). Jake went to plug in the extra six microphones while Yugi went and found the song. After helping Jake hand out microphones Yugi gestured to Selene who then started the music. Instantly the upbeat music started. As soon as the lyrics started, Jake, Yugi, and Selene started singing, shortly followed by the others.

"Bring in the noise 

_Bring down the house_

_We came here to turn the party out_

_Say c'mon c'mon let's raise the roof_

And give 'em proof that we can get loose ya'll" For the next verse Jake stepped up, ready to sing. As he took the spotlight everyone could feel the happiness almost radiating off him. This was the type of thing that Jake absolutely loved to do. They all joked that if he'd led a normal life the red head would have grown up to be a prank designer or spy of some sort. 

Then Jake sang, the spotlight casting shadows on his red sleeveless shirt and black jeans.

"Bring in the noise 

_Bring down the house_

_We came here to turn the party out_

_Say c'mon c'mon let's raise the roof_

And give 'em proof that we can get loose ya'll" 

Yugi got ready to sing next. As he stepped forward the light shone off his leather-clad form and, despite the fact that the leather was black, gave him the appearance of an actual angel. He would always be one who worked well with others and everyone was glad he would be able to accomplish his dream of becoming a teacher.

Then Yugi sang, his voice helping them to lose themselves in the song.

"We need to get down 

_The scene is so so right_

_Everybody's in the house tonight_

_Loose your mind_

_Let your body take control_

You've got that feeling in your soul" 

It was Selene's turn to sing next. Selene stepped forward, her natural grace and confidence, not arrogance, clearly showing in her walk and stance. They all believed that if Selene had been allowed a normal life the emerald-eyed girl would've grown up to be a dancer or gymnast of some sort because she had the perfect balance and grace for it.

As Selene sang, the spotlight glinted off her silver sleeveless top and cast shadows on her black, leather hip-huggers.

"I've got that feeling baby 

_You know it drives me crazy_

_And all I want to do is hit the floor_

_I want to shout it ya'll_

_So make it louder ya'll_

And turn it up some more" 

As Selene stepped back she nudged Damien forward, clearly telling him that it was his turn. As Damien stepped forward his quieter demeanor was a stark contrast to Selene's fiery temper. Everyone was in agreement that if Damien's friends and family hadn't abandoned him he would've grown up to be a great writer.

As Damien sang they could all see the stark contrast of his white t-shirt to his black jeans and ebony hair.

"Bring in the noise 

_Bring down the house_

_We came here to turn the party out_

_Say c'mon c'mon let's raise the roof_

And give 'em proof that we can get loose ya'll" 

Damien stepped back, correctly guessing that the next part was going to be a chorus and thus not nudging anyone else up. Anyway, it was just two lines of chorus and one of the others would undoubtedly nudge someone up.

"Bring in the noise Bring in the noise" 

Grinning, Jake nudged his lover Jason up. Jason, knowing it would be fruitless to argue, stepped forward. The first thought on everyone's mind as the blue-jean clad inventor took the stage was related to their own about the others. It was something along the lines of if his adoptive family hadn't been such idiots the man in front of them would've grown up to be a famous scientist or inventor.

Spotlight casting shadows on his navy colored shirt, Jason began to sing.

"Just shake it girl 

_And enjoy the ride_

_Do what you feel inside_

'_Cause it's your world_

_All you wanted more_

So baby go and get yours" 

Yami stepped up next to sing after a not-so-subtle nudge from Yugi. Throwing his partner an exasperated look, Yami stepped forward. Everyone watched as the former pharaoh and soon to be doctor took the stage reluctantly.

The light shone on him accentuating his ruby eyes and shirt against his black leather pants.

"I've got that feeling baby   
You know it drives me crazy 

_All I want to do is hit the floor_

_I want to shout it ya'll_

_So make it louder ya'll_

_And turn it up some more"_

Relieved, Yami stepped back as the last one who had yet to sing was 'signaled' by his lover that it was in fact his turn. It was obvious why he had such an affinity with music as soon as Derek took the center stage. The brown and ruby eyed man's voice blended perfectly with the music. He would've been a great musician had his brother not died.

With the lights shining on his white t-shirt and black jeans, the light-haired brunette sang with the music.

"Bring in the noise 

_Bring down the house_

_We came here to turn the party out_

_Say c'mon c'mon lets raise the roof_

And give 'em proof that we can get loose ya'll" 

Derek then stepped back and, as none of the voluntary participants stepped forward or nudged someone else forward, prepared to sing again, correctly guessing that this would be for all of them to sing.

"Bring in the noise 

_Bring in the noise_

_Bring in the noise_

_Bring in the noise_

_I've got that feeling baby_

_You know it drives me crazy_

_And all I want to do is hit the floor_

_Bring in the noise_

_Bring down the house_

_We came here to turn the party out_

_Say c'mon c'mon lets raise the roof_

And give 'em proof that we can get loose ya'll" 

After the last note finally ended, the four unwilling participants gratefully stepped off the stage, glad that that was finally over. The three volunteers, however, look sad that it was over, having enjoyed the song.

"Drink and food time," Jason said, gesturing to their still unfinished pizza and drinks. Everyone nodded in agreement, thinking that they could use the break.

As they ate, Jake looked carefully around the room. He was glad that everyone looked so happy. He took a sip of his drink before he got an idea for another song to sing.

Jumping up like a kid who'd had too much sugar, he ran to the stage, attracting the attention of all his friends at once. He unplugged all but one of the microphones before running over to the computer. He scrolled along until he found the song he was looking for.

Before hitting the start button, he turned around and said to the audience, "I'd like to dedicate this _loving_ song to all of our _friends_ who we've met over the years. You all may, in your mind, dedicate this to someone in particular when you hear it! Enjoy!"

Jake turned and hit the start button. He started to count the beat before the song started.

"For everything you do 

_I'd like to swallow you_

And everyday I'm gonna blame you 

_Even if you justify_

_Every fucking bullshit lie_

_It only makes me want to break you_

_You pull me down_

_And you crucify my name_

_You make me insane_

_It's broken now_

_Don't ever look my way_

_Don't even ting I'm playin'_

'_Cause I fucking hate you_

_You're such a liar_

_And I love you HANG you_

_You're all BUT SATAN to me_

_When you repeatedly_

_Take advantage of me_

The only though I get of you sickens me," 

During the song, everyone was, just as Jake had suggested, dedicating this song to at the very, _very_ least of one person. The first ones to come to mind were people like Akuma and Adam. Anyone could guess why.

"Everybody knows your fake 

_You're everything I fucking hate_

_And I'm everything that you could never be_

_You pull me down_

_And you crucify my name_

_You make me insane_

_It's broken now_

_Don't ever look my way_

_Don't even think I'm playin'_

'_Cause I fucking hate you_

_You're such a liar_

_And I love to hang you_

_You're all but Satan to me_

_I fucking hate you_

_You're suck a liar_

_And love to hate you_

_You're all the same to me_

_(Fuck you)_

_(Fuck you)_

_(Fuck you)"_

The images going through Jake's mind during the song included images of his own relatives who'd been to stingy to even consider taking him in. They included images of Damien's ex-friends and ex-family, Selene's _father_, Jason's adopted family, the man who'd killed Derek's brother, Akuma and his crew, and Yugi's _father_. This song perfectly expressed his feeling toward each and every one of them. This was also the perfect way to vent his temper.

"You pull me down 

_And you crucify my name_

_You make me insane_

_It's broken now_

_Don't ever look my way_

_Don't even think I'm playin'_

'_Cause I fucking hate you_

_You're such a liar_

_And I love to hang you_

_You're all but Satan to me_

_And I fucking hate you_

_You're all the same to me_

_Fuck you (fuck you)_

_Fuck you (fuck you)_

_Fuck you (fuck you)_

_Fuck you (fuck you)"_

As soon as Jake finished, Selene stood up and said, "My turn."

Selene stood up and took the microphone from Jake. She walked up to the computer and scrolled down the songs until she found the song she was looking for. Smiling, she pressed the start button and moved to the center of the stage.

"How to stay paralyzed by fear of abandonment 

_How to defer to men in solvable predicaments_

_How to control someone to be a carbon copy of you_

_How to have that not work and have them run away from you."_

Yugi smiled as he heard the song. He knew about Selene's life, and he also recognized that that, to a certain extent, was how she used to be. Not completely, but close enough. He should know considering that he'd felt the same way before.

"How to keep people at arms length and never get too close 

_How to mistrust the ones who supposedly love you the most_

_How to pretend you're fine and don't need help from anyone_

_How to feel worthless unless you're serving of helping someone."_

Damien shook his head sadly as he listened to the song that Selene sang. He knew from being around her for so many years that this was how she felt sometimes. She may have confidence and strength, but he'd learned to see that that was just a mask. She may appear very confident and strong, but inside she could sometimes be the little girl that wished for her mom and protected Yugi when he needed her.

He remembered when she also hadn't trusted any of the other Venators or himself worth a flip. It had taken ages to deserve any trust from the emerald-eyed girl.

"I'll teach you all this in 8 easy steps 

_A course of a lifetime you'll never forget_

_I'll show you how to in 8 easy steps_

_I'll show you how leadership looks when taught by the best_

_How to hate women when you're supposed to be a feminist_

_How to play all pious when you're really a hypocrite_

_How to hate god when you're a player and a spiritualist_

_How to sabotage your fantasies by fears of success."_

As Selene sang, she remembered times when these things all applied to her quite a bit. She used to hate life. Her only reason for living was so she could protect others and reap her vengance on her father. Then she'd met the others and her whole life had changed. This song was just a dedication of how she used to be.

"I'll teach you all this in 8 easy steps 

_A course of a lifetime you'll never forget_

_I'll show you how to in 8 easy steps_

I'll show you how leadership looks when taught by the best 

_I've been doing research for years_

_I've been practicing my ass off_

_I've been training my whole life for this moment I swear to you_

_Culminating just to be this well-versed leader before you."_

Selene was definitely a well-versed leader in many aspects of life. She could be very stubborn and tempremental, but she was the best leader they had.

"I'll teach you all this in 8 easy steps 

_A course of a lifetime you'll never forget_

_I'll show you how to in 8 easy steps_

I'll show you how leadership looks when taught by the best How to lie to yourself and thereby to everyone else How to keep smiling when you're thinking of killing yourself How to numb a la holic to avoid going within 

_How to stay stuck in blue by blaming them for everything_

I'll teach you all this in 8 easy steps 

_A course of a lifetime you'll never forget_

_I'll show you how to in 8 easy steps_

_I'll show you how leadership looks when taught by the best."_

Selene bowed as everyone clapped. Once she was about to sit down, Damien grabbed her and pulled her into his lap, suprising the young woman that he loved.

Smiling at the couple in front of him, Yugi jumped up and said, "It's my turn now!"

...to be continued...

AN: This is about half of this chapter...so I guess that there will be at the very least of two more chapters after this. Sorry again about how long it took...did the length make up for that at least? Please review!


	22. Karaoke Continued

Karaoke Continued 

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of the songs used. Everything you don't recognize as belonging to someone else, belongs to me.

This is the next to last chapter. I'm sorry the last ones are taking so long, but these two are really long. The last one won't take nearly as long, I PROMISE! I already have the chapter outlined in my head so it will be out soon!

Thank you all for the reviews!

Kiyama

Tamurl

This chapter is, for the most part, love songs that finally reestablishes relationships. Hope you enjoy it!

Last Time 

Selene bowed as everyone clapped. Once she was about to sit down, Damien grabbed her and pulled her into his lap, surprising the young woman that he loved.

Smiling at the couple in front of him, Yugi jumped up and said, "It's my turn now!"

On With The Story 

Yugi walked up onto the stage and over to the song selector. Scrolling, he quickly found the one he wanted and hit start. As the music started, he hurried to the center of the stage and grabbed the microphone before he started to sing.

"Baby you're all that I want 

_When you're lying here in my arms_

_I'm finding it hard to believe_

_We're in heaven_

_And love is all that I need_

_And I found it there in your heart_

_It isn't too hard to see_

We're in heaven" 

Yugi smiled as he looked out at his friends, particularly out at his yami. He could tell by the look on his face that Yami could tell that the song was for him. If the jabs to the ribs of said man were any indication, everyone else could tell too.

"Oh thinkin' about our younger years 

_There was only you and me_

_We were young and wild and free_

_Now nothing can take you away from me_

_We've been down that road before_

_But that's over now_

You keep me coming back for more" 

Yami could feel the heat rising to his face as he heard the song his tenshi had chosen. This was one of Yugi's favorite songs to dance too on Dance Dance Revolution. One time Yami had asked why, and Yugi had replied that it reminded him so much of their situation. After all, until a year ago, they had been separated because of a mistake on Yami's part two years before that.

"Baby you're all that I want 

_When you're lying here in my arms_

_I'm finding it hard to believe_

_Were in heaven_

_And love it all that I need_

_And I found it there in your heart_

_It isn't too hard to see_

_We're in heaven_

_We're in heaven"_

Yugi smiled as he imitated to steps on DDR while he sang, thankful that the microphone could be pulled off and held in his hand. This was one of the songs he just couldn't resist dancing to. One time he had even started dancing in the mall without realizing it and had gotten very weird looks from everyone except his own friends who, of course, were used to it.

"_Now nothing can change what you mean to me_

_There's a lot that I can say_

_But just hold me now_

'_Cause our love will light the way"_

Yami smiled at his koi as he continued to dance and sing at the same time. Yugi had loved the song so much that he had even bought the CD with the song on it. Well, Selene was actually the one who had bought it for him while she was in the USA, and she had sent it to him…with a few surprises courtesy of Jake…a few unpleasant surprises. After all, they had just gone out and found an excellent prank store. The kitchen had smelled like rotten fruit for days afterwards.

"_Baby you're all that I want_

_When you're lying here in my arms_

_I'm finding it hard to believe_

_We're in heaven_

_And love is all that I need_

_And I found it there in your heart_

_It isn't too hard to see_

_We're in heaven"_

Selene smiled while looking between the two lovers, glad that everything had worked out in the end. She had hated Yami for a while, but once she saw that he did care for Yugi, she was glad that she'd given him a chance. Now a blind man could see how happy the two men were…though some people still adamantly denied it and they were stupid bastards.

"_Now our dreams are coming true_

_Through the good times and the bad_

_I'll be standing there by you"_

Yugi's amethyst eyes locked with a set of ruby eyes as he sang the verse, almost like a pledge to never leave. He knew that his lover understood, and he also knew that Yami felt the same way. He could feel his sincerity every time they connected.

"_We're in heaven_

_Love is all that I need_

_And I found it there in your heart_

_It isn't too hard to see_

_We're in heaven_

We're in heaven" 

Yugi placed the microphone down as the song ended. He hopped off the stage and walked up to Yami. He was about to sit down beside him when Yami pulled him right into his lap.

"Love you tenshi," Yami stated, forgetting the group around them as he kissed Yugi gently on the lips. He was brought back to reality abruptly when he heard Jake wolf whistle while the others suppressed snickers. Yami felt his cheeks heat up again and saw Yugi blush slightly, though they should both be used to that.

"Well," Selene snickered slightly while standing up, "since we're doing songs dedicated to others, I'll go again."

Selene walked up onto stage and scrolled down on the screen and chose a song. She walked onto the center of the stage and picked up the microphone as the song started. Then she started to sing.

"The real me is a southern girl 

_With her Levi's on and an open heart_

_Wish I could save the world_

_Like I was Supergirl_

_The real me used to laugh all night_

_Lying in the grass, just talking 'bout love_

_But lately I've been jaded _

_Life got so complicated"_

The tan-haired woman smiled at Damien as her emerald eyes connected with his sapphire ones. The ebony-haired young man knew that she was talking to him. As much as she had never been able to be exactly like what she had just described, he knew that she always wished that she could've been.

"_I start thinking about it_

_Almost forgot what it was like_

_To know when it feels right"_

He remembered when all the Venetors had first met. Selene, who had previously worked alone, had been very unhappy about that. In fact, she even blew up at the woman who had brought her in because she was the one who had also assigned Jake, Jason, Derek, and Damien to start working with her. She had done so, but very unwillingly at first. It made a very interesting first impression on all of them.

"_But with you_

_I can let my hair down_

_I can say anything crazy_

_I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground_

_With nothing but a T-shirt on_

_I never felt so beautiful_

_Baby, as I do now_

_Now that I'm with you_

_With you_

_With you_

_With you_

_Now that I'm with you"_

As Selene sang, she remembered the first time she realized that she had feelings for Damien. It had been very difficult for her to admit it because she had spent so long closing herself off from that kind of love that she didn't understand it very well. She was just thankful that Yugi and the others had decided to lock the two of them in a closet until they worked things out, not that she hadn't gotten them back for the locking them in a closet part. She made sure that the bright red and green dye didn't wash out for weeks. In fact, Selene still had the pictures hidden.

"_You speak and it's like a song_

_And just like that, all my walls come down_

_It's like a private joke_

_Just meant for us to know_

_I relate to you naturally_

_Everybody else just fades away_

_Sometimes it's hard to breathe_

_Just knowing you found me"_

Jake smiled as he listened to the song. He may act insane sometimes, okay almost all the time, but he still could be serious sometimes and he was glad that Selene had come so far. When the group first joined up with her, she had been, to put it simply, a bitch just simply because she really hated having to work with them. Thankfully, she had softened up, and it was more fun to tease her when he knew that she wouldn't really kill him, no matter how much she threatened to do so. 

"'_Cause I start thinking about it_

_I almost forgot what it was like_

_To know when love feels right"_

Selene's mind flashed to her father for a moment as she the lights bounced off her silver top, but she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind. He no longer had any control over her, and she refused to let him have any place in her future.

"'_Cause with you_

_I can let my hair down_

_I can say anything crazy_

_I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground_

_With nothing but a T-shirt on_

_I never felt so beautiful_

_Baby as I do now_

_Now that I'm with you_

_With you_

_With you_

_With you"_

Smiling, she pulled the hair tie out of her hair on the second line, and it fanned out around her. She used her free hand to brush it behind her shoulders so it wouldn't be in the way. As much as she liked having her hair long, sometimes it did have its disadvantages, but she refused to cut it for many reasons, including the fact that her mother kept it long and as much as she had never met her, she still missed her.

"_Come and take me_

_Love you, save me_

_Like nobody else_

_Now I can be myself with you"_

Selene knew she could be herself with anyone of her friends, but it was just so much easier with Damien. Sometimes around the others, she became hesitant about things, though she never let it show, but with him it just came naturally. They all knew this, and they all felt the same about their own loves.

"_I can let my hair down_

_I can say anything crazy_

_I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground_

_With nothing but a T-shirt on_

_I never felt so beautiful_

_Baby as I do now_

_Now that I'm with you_

_I can let my hair down_

_I can say anything crazy_

_I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground_

_With nothing but a T-shirt on_

_I never felt so beautiful_

_Baby as I do now_

_Now that I'm with you"_

Selene bowed as she finished the song, applause coming from all of her friends. She walked off the stage, after having set the microphone down again, and sat beside Damien before taking a sip of her drink.

Jason shook his head as he took a bite of the now cool pizza before his eyes widened with an idea. He swallowed his bite quickly and took a swig of his own drink.

Smiling at all of them, the blonde man said, "I've got an idea everyone."

Yami, Yugi, Jake, Derek, Damien, and Selene all turned to him, curious as to what he was about to say.

"Since Yugi and Selene just sang songs obviously dedicated to their special someone," he smiled at the two singers, and Selene stuck her tongue out at him, "how 'bout the rest of us do the same thing. We could each sing a song dedicated to our lover or lovers."

They seemed to think over this for a moment before Derek replied, "Fine, but you're going next since it was your idea."

Jason thought for a moment before setting his pizza on the table and moving to the stage. He walked over to the song selector and quickly found the one he was looking for. Selecting the song, he moved to the center of the stage, where Selene and Yugi had both sung, before picking up the microphone, and he started to sing.

"I'm always too late 

_I see the train leaving_

_I'm always laughing_

_When it's not cool to smile"_

Jason's amber eyes grew distant as he sang the first couple of verses. He had always felt that way growing up. The blonde had grown up in an orphanage and was shunned by most kids because of that. He was even shunned by the kids at the orphanage because of his almost golden eyes. Jason had always hated it and wanted to be normal, but now he was glad he wasn't. If not for the shunning, he wouldn't have buried himself in books; becoming the one he was today.

"I'm always aiming 

_But somehow keep missing_

_So how did you get here_

_Something is wrong"_

The first time he had been brought to the headquarters of the Venetors, he had wondered how something so bad had become better. At least he had a roof above his head again and a place where he wouldn't be beaten. It was even better than he had expected because he had made friends with Selene, Damien, Jake, Derek, Yugi (later on), and Yami (even later than that). He had also found two wonderful lovers who cared really cared for him.

"_Where did I go right_

_How did I get you_

_How come all this blue sky_

_Is around me_

_And you found me_

_Where did I go right_

_How did I get you_

_I don't know how I did_

_But somehow now I do"_

Jason had often asked himself where he had gone right. How had he, the reclusive bookworm who was shunned by almost everyone, found such wonderful friends and boyfriends? He honestly had no idea, but Jason was so glad that he had. Where would he be if not for them? Well, he knew where he would probably be but didn't want to think about it.

"_I'm always driving_

_Forget where I'm going_

_Should have turned left_

_But I was singing some song_

_And I, I am arriving_

_As everyone's leaving_

_But there you are waiting_

_Something is wrong"_

Derek looked over and smiled at Jake as the song continued. He knew that it was meant for them, and that Jason was remembering his past. If the bittersweet look in Jake's eyes was anything to go by, he knew it too. They both knew that the blonde boy felt he didn't deserve them, and they both knew that Jason was, just that once, very wrong.

"_Where did I go right_

_How did I get you_

_How come all this blue sky_

_Is around me_

_And you found me_

_Where did I go right_

_How did I get you_

_I don't know how I did_

_But somehow now I do"_

Yami watched as amber-eyed man on the stage sang. He may not have known any of the Venetors as long as Yugi had, or as long as they had known each other, but he did know how much they all cared for each other. He also knew an outlined version of their pasts. And he could tell that they all cared for each other very much. All the injured souls had found solace in one another, just as he had found solace in Yugi's presence, despite how long it took him to really admit it to himself.

"_Makes no sense to me_

_No it isn't clear_

_But somehow you're standing here_

_Something gets to me_

_It's that nothing is wrong_

_Where did I go right_

_How did I get you_

_How come all this blue sky_

_Is around me_

_And you found me_

_Where did I go right_

_How did I get you_

_I don't know how I did_

_But somehow now I do"_

Jason closed his eyes as he came closer to the end of the song, and he brought himself back to the present. The past was the past, and as much as it did help to shape who he was, it did not rule him. He would live in the here and now, with the two who cared for him the most, and the two he cared for the most.

"_Where did I go right_

_How did I get you_

_How come all this blue sky_

_Is around me_

_And you found me_

_Where did I go right_

_How did I get you_

_I don't know how I did_

_But somehow now I do"_

The blonde set down the microphone as the song ended. As he stepped down, he felt better, as if singing had helped to relieve him of some stress. As much as he didn't like it as much as, say, Derek he still liked it.

"Who's next?" he asked casually as he eyed the group in front of him. They all exchanged glances, obviously none of the remaining had a song in mind at that moment.

Finally, Selene rolled her eyes and pushed Derek off the couch, "Your turn!"

Derek stuck his tongue out as Jason took his unoccupied seat. "Fine," he replied as he walked up to the machine and scrolled for a bit before he found a song he wanted. After hitting the start button, he moved to the center of the stage and picked up the discarded microphone.

"For all those times you stood by me 

_For all the truth that you made me see_

_For all the joy you brought to my life_

_For all the wrong that you made right_

_For every dream you made come true_

_For all the love I found in you_

_I'll be forever thankful baby_

_You're the one who held me up_

_Never let me fall_

_You're the one who saw me through it all"_

Jason and Jake smiled as soon as the song started. Derek had played this particular song a lot on his guitar. He had actually played and sang it for them several times. He told them that the first time he had heard it, it had reminded him of everyone he cared for, especially them.

"_You were my strength when I was weak_

_You were my voice when I couldn't speak_

_You were my eyes when I couldn't see_

_You saw the best there was in me_

_Lifted me up when I couldn't reach_

_You gave me faith 'cause you believed_

_I'm everything I am_

_Because you loved me"_

Yugi could feel his eyes tear up slightly at the song. He could practically _feel_ the emotion that Derek put behind the song. He was sure that everyone else could as well. He felt Yami tighten his grip on his waist and smiled back at his darker lover.

"_You gave me wings and made me fly_

_You touched my hand, I could touch the sky_

_I lost my faith, you gave it back to me_

_You said no star was out of reach_

_You stood by me and I stood tall_

_I had your love, I had it all_

_I'm grateful for each day you gave me_

_Maybe I don't know that much_

_But I know this much is true_

_I was blessed because I was loved by you"_

Derek smiled as he remembered when he had first come to the Venetors. He had been devastated at his brother's death, and he had been ready and willing to give up music. That was until the others had found his brother's guitar that he had kept with him and helped him to remember how much he loved music. He was blessed with great family-like friends like Selene, Yugi, Damien, and Yami, and he was doubly blessed because he had not one but two wonderful lovers who inspired him more that they ever knew.

"_You were my strength when I was weak_

_You were my voice when I couldn't speak_

_You were my eyes when I couldn't see_

_You saw the best there was in me_

_Lifted me up when I couldn't reach_

_You gave me faith 'cause you believed_

_I'm everything I am_

_Because you loved me"_

Damien smiled as he tightened his grip on his girlfriend's waist. He knew exactly how Derek felt. He could understand because he felt the same way about Selene. He saw everyday in the trio's eyes exactly how much they cared for each other, even if they did pick on each other quite a lot.

"_You were always there for me_

_The tender wind that carried me_

_A light in the dark shining you love into my life_

_You've been my inspiration_

_Through the lies you were the truth_

_My world is a better place because of you"_

Jake and Jason remembered how they had all gotten together. Selene, Damien, and Yugi had each lured a different one of them and had locked them into a bare room with only a bed in the center. They had left them in there for hours, obviously knowing that eventually one of them would crack. Unexpectedly Jason had been the first to crack, the rest was history.

"_You were my strength when I was weak_

_You were my voice when I couldn't speak_

_  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see_

_You saw the best there was in me_

_Lifted me up when I couldn't reach_

_You gave me faith 'cause you believed_

_I'm everything I am_

_Because you loved me_

_I'm everything I am_

_Because you loved me"_

Damien paused for a second after he finished the last note before he set down the microphone and stepped off the stage. He sat down between his two boyfriends and grinned at the group around him before taking a large drink of his Cola.

Before the question could be asked again, Yami sighed and stood up. He knew that he would go eventually, so why not now while he had a song in mind, "I'll go next."

Yami hopped up onto the platform and scrolled for a minute before finding the song he was thinking of. Taking a deep breath, Yami hit the start button and picked up the microphone.

"Countless eyes are watching 

_In this, our finest hour_

_It's time to realize the dream_

_And who we really are_

_I'm gonna free this place in time_

_Rise to meet the call_

_Seize the moment, make it mine_

_And, through it all…"_

Yami smiled, his ruby eyes glowing as he looked at his hikari. He picked this song because, quite often, countless eyes were watching whenever they were out just simply because of the title 'King of Games.' They watched as the pair grew closer and shared some of their finest hours, both as dueling partners and lovers.

"_Straight as the arrow flies_

_I will run towards the finish line_

_With all the strength I've found_

_My feet won't touch the ground_

_I will scale the heights, if I believe_

_Your wings of faith will carry me_

_I'll go the distance, just to reach_

_The arms I'm running to_

_I'll go the extra mile_

_For you"_

Through all the hardships, especially all of those years they been separated because of his stupidity, Yugi had stayed by him in the end. He felt that all those hardships led them straight to each other.

"_I know it won't be easy_

_To make you understand_

_I want to take the glory_

_And put it in your hands_

'_Cause you're the light that makes me shine_

_You're the hero in my eyes_

_Win or lose, do or die_

_I have made it high"_

Yugi felt tears come to his eyes as he heard Yami sing. He knew that Yami loved the song, he often heard him humming the tune when he thought that Yugi wasn't listening. Yugi loved to hear his yami sing, even if Yami didn't want him to hear him sing.

"_Straight as the arrow flies_

_I will run towards the finish line_

_With all the strength I've found_

_My feet won't touch the ground_

_I will scale the heights, if I believe_

_Your wings of faith will carry me_

_I'll go the distance, just to reach_

_The arms I'm running to_

_I'll go the extra mile_

_For you"_

Jason smiled as he heard Yami pour all his feelings towards his boyfriend into the song. He was glad that the turbulent love had settled down, and he knew he could trust Yami not to hurt Yugi, whom he'd grown to see as a brother in the time they'd spent together.

"_In the end_

_I want to be able to say_

_I gave all of me_

_For the world to see_

_And I would do it all again_

_I'd go the extra mile"_

Yugi knew what his Yami was saying, and he had to say he felt the same. He never wanted something to separate them again. He also knew that Yami had given him his all, and he felt honored to be loved by someone that wonderful.

"_Straight as the arrow flies_

_I will run towards the finish line_

_With all the strength I've found_

_My feet won't touch the ground_

_I will scale the heights, if I believe_

_Your wings of faith will carry me_

_I'll go the distance, just to reach_

_The arms I'm running to_

_I'll go the extra mile_

_For you_

_Knowing it would be worthwhile_

_I will go the extra mile_

_For you"_

Yami trailed off as the song finished. He quickly put down the microphone and walked to where Yugi was sitting before joining him and kissing his hikari lightly on the lips.

"You know what," Damien grinned, interrupting the two, "I think I'll go next."

Rolling his eyes, Damien jumped up onto the stage and scrolled to the song he liked before starting it

"No body has to tell me 

_Where my heart resides_

'_Cause you've always been there for me_

_Every time I cried_

_Even though there's always_

_Mistakes we make in life_

_Girl, I care for you_

_I'll give you all I have inside"_

Selene fought down a blush as she heard Damien sing. She knew that this was for her…anyone could tell if they knew the group in the least. She also knew that he didn't often get up to perform in front of others, despite the fact that he was good at it, so this was very special to her.

"_I'd walk across the sun_

_To write your name in lights_

_I'd fly across the sky with no wings_

_Once upon a time_

_For you I will say anything_

_But I can't say goodbye_

_Your memories I'll keep with me for life_

_You're my once upon a time"_

She remembered before they even contemplated being a couple, back when they'd all first become a team, and she'd ended up tell them all about her…experiences with her father she had been afraid that they would just turn away. She was glad that things had turned out this way.

"_So what are you afraid of_

_That my love won't stay true_

_What do I have to do girl_

_So you will know for sure"_

Damien smiled as he saw Selene's emerald eyes glaze over as she thought about the song and just listened. He remembered the first time they'd all met her, they were actually partially afraid of her and partially mentally moaning over the fact that she was their partner. She hadn't exactly given him, Derek, Jake, and Jason a warm and hearty welcome. She had actually clearly stated that she hadn't wanted to work with them at the time. Thankfully she eventually came around other wise things might be quite different right now. 

"_I'd walk across the sun_

_To write your name in lights_

_I'd fly across the sky with no wings_

_Once upon a time_

_For you I will say anything_

_But I can't say goodbye_

_Your memories I'll keep with me for life_

_You're my once upon a time"_

Yugi grinned as he watched the two gaze at each other. He had been very grateful when his childhood best friend had finally found someone that understood her and could deal with her naturally obstinate and slightly odd personality. Most people would run screaming the first time Selene lost her temper, and he should know, he had seen it happen countless times over the time he's known her. Poor, poor fools had no idea what had hit them.

"_Girl you know I only say_

_What I mean to say_

_And right now I tell you_

_You're the one for all my life_

_So baby won't you take my hand_

_I'll make you understand_

_I'll be your love forever more when life's so short_

_But first I'm fixing to say"_

Yami smiled, he hadn't know them as long as his tenshi, but he did know that the ebony-haired man cared deeply for all his friends and would do anything for them, especially for his hikari's only childhood friend who'd been through so much already and really deserved a break for once.

"_I'd walk across the sun_

_To write your name in lights_

_I'd fly across the sky with no wings_

_Once upon a time_

_For you I will say anything_

_But I can't say goodbye_

_Your memories I'll keep with me for life_

_You're my once upon a time"_

Sapphire eyes met emerald as they both remembered exactly how he had convinced the stubborn, tan-haired girl that he loved her. He remembered that it had taken a lot to get past all of her subconscious barriers that she'd erected to protect herself. It had taken him months but it finally got all the way through, and he was glad that he'd waited, Selene was worth the work it took.

"_I'd walk across the sun_

_To write your name in lights_

_I'd fly across the sky with no wings_

_Once upon a time_

_For you I will say anything_

_But I can't say goodbye_

_Your memories I'll keep with me for life_

_You're my once upon a time_

_You're my once upon a time"_

Damien bowed as he finished the song and hopped off of the stage, laying the microphone back onto the wooden stage.

"Okay! Okay! It's my turn now!" Jake exclaimed as he hopped off of the seat where he'd been sitting with Jason and Derek, causing everyone to jump at the abrupt shouting in the otherwise rather quiet room.

Selene growled but didn't move from her seat as Damien sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist, partially because he wanted to and partially to keep her from leaping up the tackling Jake.

Jake practically ran to the stage and scrolled down the list of songs before he found the one he was looking for. Grinning from ear to ear, he pressed the start button and grabbed the microphone off the stage. The music started, and soon after so did he.

"I set out on a narrow way 

_Many years ago_

_Hoping I would find true love_

_Along the broken road_

_But I got lost a time or two_

_Wipe my brow, kept pushing through_

_I couldn't see how every sign_

Pointed straight to you" 

Jake closed his eyes as he sang and remembered his own broken road. After his parents had died, he had heard his relatives debating who should take him in. Not one family had offered to take him from either his mom's or his dad's side. They all said that he would be too much trouble or just another expense in their accounts. He'd run away that night and was found shortly afterwards by one of members of the Organization that just happened to be there. Looking back, he had been incredibly lucky. Had his timing been just a little different, he wouldn't be where he was now.

"Every long lost dream 

_Led me to where you are_

_Others who broke my heart_

_They were like northern stars_

_Pointing me on my way_

_Into your loving arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That god bless the broken road_

That led me straight to you" 

As much as the red haired young man had always wanted a loving family with his own blood relatives or to form a family of his own, he was glad that the first had been lost and that the second had changed from what it originally was. Had it not been for the lost dreams, he wouldn't have found his current family, the ones who meant the most to him.

"I think about the years 

_I spent just passing through_

_I'd like to have the time I lost_

_And give it back to you_

_But you just smile and take my hand_

_You've been there, you understand_

_It's all part of a grander plan  
_

_That is coming true"_

Jason smiled his silver-blue eyed lover sang on the stage, remembering conversations the three of them often had on the past and the future. Jake had always wished that they had gotten together earlier, had lamented as being wasted, but he and Derek had always just convinced him for a while that things turned out for the best, that anything else wouldn't have worked the same way. He was glad that things had turned out the way they had.

"Every long lost dream 

_Led me to where you are_

_Others who broke my heart_

_They were like northern stars_

_Pointing me on my way_

_Into your loving arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That god bless the broken road_

That led me straight to you" 

Derek's lips turned up slightly as he met eyes with both of his lovers. He knew exactly what the two were thinking, and he agreed. Had anything in their past been different, things might not have turned out the way they had, and he was perfectly happy with the way things were. He also knew that everyone in the room agreed. As much as the path had been difficult, it had been worth it in the end.

"Now I'm just rolling through 

_Into my lover's arms_

_This much I know is true_

_That god bless the broken road_

_That led me straight to you_

_That god bless the broken road_

_That led me straight to you"_

Once the song finished, Jake grinned widely and said loudly into the microphone, "And that concludes our love song list!"

Everyone winced as Jake normally loud voice was amplified. Unfortunately for Jake, Damien's grip on Selene loosened and he had to jump away as she jumped over the table and went after him. They ran around for a minute, Jake having thankfully dropped the microphone when he started running, before Selene literally pounced him and pinned him on his chest with his arms under her knees.

Grinning maniacally, Selene reached down and moved her fingers deftly over the ribs of her spiky red haired victim, causing him to squirm before he started laughing uncontrollably.

"H…h…help…m…me! Help…me! He…help…me!" Jake managed to gasp out between laughs as he squirmed desperately to try and escape his slightly taller captor.

After letting their friend suffer for a moment, Yugi and Damien went over to drag Selene off of Jake while leaving the redhead panting on the floor. Smirking, Selene allowed them to drag her off of her poor ex-captive.

It was a moment before Jake managed to stand up and walk over to the couch and plop down with Derek and Jason. Then he pick up his now half-water drink and took a long swig, needing something to wet his mouth after laughing so hard.

Selene smiled and, deciding to sing to vent some of her frustrations at Jake. "I'll go again," she chirruped happily, startling the two men holding her. Smirking, she walked up on stage and scrolled down the list. Grinning, she started the song and walked to the center of the stage to pick up the microphone.

"When I was just a little girl   
My Mama used to tuck me into bed   
And she read me a story   
It was always about a princess in distress   
And how a guy would save her   
And end up with the glory"   
The green-eyed young woman smirked as she remembered reading suck stories. She may never have had her mom reading them to her, but she'd read them often enough while growing up just to help escape reality.   
"I'd lie in bed and thing about   
The person that I wanted to be   
Then one day I realized   
The fairytale life   
Wasn't for me"   
Yugi rolled his eyes as he sat beside Yami again, wondering just how true that was. Even though she certainly didn't let anyone save her if she could help it, she really hated feeling helpless, she didn't live what anyone would call a 'normal' life. So, in some ways, she certainly did and didn't have a fairytale life.   
"I don't wanna be like Cinderella   
Sittin' in a dark, cold, dusty cellar   
Waitin' for somebody   
To come and set me free   
I don't wanna be like Snow White waitin'   
For a handsome prince to come and save me 

_On a horse of white_

_Unless we're ridin' side by side_

_Don't wanna depend on no one else_

I'd rather rescue myself" 

Jake rolled his eyes, finally able to breath normally, at the stubborn tone that Selene unconsciously put behind her words. He was probably one of the people who knew just how stubborn the tan-haired woman was. He also knew her temper very well and loved to poke at her, though he also knew when to stop and what lines he shouldn't cross if he wanted to live a long and prosperous life.

"Someday I'm gonna find someone 

_Who wants me body, soul, heart, and mind_

_Who's not afraid to show that he loves me_

_Somebody who will understand_

_I'm happy just the way I am_

Don't need nobody takin' care of me" 

Damien shook his head as his girlfriend sang. The song described her to a T. She was stubborn, independent, strong, and frighteningly short tempered, but that was, in part, why he loved her. She wasn't your 'traditional girl' that fussed over how she looked and what she wore. She wore what helped in her work, and she didn't use any kind of make-up.

"I will be there for him 

_Just as strong as he_

_Will be there for me_

_When I give myself_

_Then it has got to be_

An equal thing" 

Selene felt better as she finished the last lines of the song. She knew that doing this kind of thing once in a while was a good thing for her temper. As much as she did show almost all of her temper, she bottled up some that slowly added up over time. Singing, dancing, and practicing helped her work out all of her frustrations.

"I don't wanna be like Cinderella   
Sittin' in a dark, cold, dusty cellar   
Waitin' for somebody   
To come and set me free   
I don't wanna be like Snow White waitin'   
For a handsome prince to come and save me 

_On a horse of white_

_Unless we're ridin' side by side_

_Don't wanna depend on no one else_

I'd rather rescue myself" 

Selene bowed deeply as she finished her song before setting the microphone down and jumping off stage, landing squarely on her boot-clad feet, before moving to sit beside Damien and taking a sip of the remaining coke in her glass.

"Hey guys," Jason suddenly spoke up as they all sat relaxing, "what time do you think we should all head home? We have a long flight tomorrow."

Sighing resignedly, Jake replied, "We should probably leave after one more song. It is getting kind of late." Everyone noticed that the clock was stating that it was 11:30, late after a long week.

"I know the exact one then," Yugi exclaimed, hopping up walked over to Jake. After whispering to him for a moment, and then do the same to Selene. All three grinned and Yugi went to find the song while Selene dragged Damien and Jake dragged Jason and Derek. Yami just walked up of his own volition, knowing that otherwise Yugi would've come down for him and convinced him with his large amethyst eyes. Selene plugged in all the microphones and, with Jake's help, handed them all out. Yugi hit the start button and Selene stepped forward first.

"_Ritual dancer spins away_

_Lost in a whirling dervish ballet_

_Musicians playing_

_Out of tune in perfect harmony"_

As Selene sang, she twirled around once, almost like a ballet dancer, while her top sparkled in the lights, contrasting with her black pants and tan hair with her emerald eyes glinting happily. While she stepped back after her verse, Jake nudged his bi-colored eyed lover up to the center of the stage.

"_Traveling down the sandy track_

_Compass in hand, guitar on my back_

_Trying to find the_

_Secret truth inside the pyramid"_

Derek shook his head, light brown hair flying everywhere as he realized exactly why they chose this song, and why he got this verse. Why not give the guitarist the verse with the guitar in it. The white t-shirt clad musician stepped back as his verse finished while the tri-haired hikari nudged his ruby-shirt clothed yami up front.

"_Foxy pharaoh knows all, won't tell_

_Dangerous knowledge locked in a cell_

_Method in madness_

_Ancient logic, never ending mystery"_

Yami inwardly laughed as he realized exactly which song they chose. It was Sunburst Finish, perfect for the last song of the night. Especially considering that it refers to the pharaoh and ancient Egypt, which had a lot to do with what they'd had to go through. Having no one nudged forward, they all correctly guessed that it was time for them all to sing together.

"_Anticipation fills the air_

_As the natives gather 'round_

_Watching the fiery sun go down_

_In the technicolor sky_

_Exploding mandala of light_

_Disappearing into darkness_

_A stunning sunburst finish_

_Shatters the horion"_

Jason almost tripped as Jake nudged him forward, and he knew that it would be pointless to argue, the inventor in blue jeans started to sing, knowing that the verse would probably suit his inquisitive nature, if the pattern followed.

"_Eye of the Sphinx now winks at you_

_What is he thinking? Wish that I knew_

_Wonder of wisdom_

_Far beyond this mortal comedy"_

As Jason stepped back, the black-clad hikari stepped forward, knowing that it was his turn. He picked it because he felt that it was a good description of how his future felt to him both in the past and now. The light glinted against his amethyst as he sang.

"_Wind of the desert blowing strong_

_Mist of the ocean kissed by the sun_

_Tropical splendor_

_Paradise is calling you away"_

Yugi stepped back and Jake stepped up, knowing that it was his turn, after all he had set up the list. As the redhead wearing a similarly colored sleeveless shirt walked up, he began to sing. He knew that this described him because the last line described where he felt he was, with all of his family and his lovers around him.

"_Make up your mind, don't make a scene_

_Wake up to find your garden is green_

_Please take your seat onboard_

_The destination is utopia"_

As the silver-blue eyed young man stepped back, Selene shoved her sapphire-eyed boyfriend up to center stage and he went up willingly, knowing that it was pointless to argue. He stepped up, his white shirt a stark contrast to his ebony hair and pants, and began to sing.

"_Echoing across the canyon_

_Hear the song of_

_The gypsy caravan_

_Magical voices in flight"_

As Damien stepped back, everyone correctly guess that they were all supposed to sing because no one was shoved forward. As they all sang, they could hear the harmony that the thieves were so famous for and that the hikari and yami shared.

"_Looking for the next oasis_

'_Neath the glow of the_

_Silver-shadow moon_

_Radiant princess of night"_

Yugi felt sad as he felt the last verse coming closer, knowing that after this they would all have to go home and that the Venators would have to leave for a while tomorrow. But he did know that they would be back soon after.

"_Stay forever, stay for a while_

_Hypnotized by sight and sound_

_Empty feelings bring a frown_

_Only love can make you smile"_

As the song ended, the whole group set down their microphones and filed off the stage. After a few minutes of finishing off the now cold pizza and drinks, the whole group headed out.

"That was a great place, we'll have to go there again," Jake commented as they walked the now dark streets, heading for Yugi's house.

"Most definitely," Selene agreed, the two did agree whenever Jake wasn't jabbing at Selene's buttons.

Once they all arrived back at Yugi's house, they all camped out in the living room with several blankets and pillows. Selene and Damien curled up on a recliner while Yugi and Yami lay together on the other one. Jason, Jake, and Derek (in that order) curled up in front of the couch.

AN: That's the end of the next to last chapter. The next one is, unfortunately, the last chapter of this story. It is sad to see some of my favorite characters go out. Anyway, please also read some of my song-fic's 'cause I really like all my readers, even if I don't know your screen names.


	23. Last Goodbyes

Last Goodbyes 

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! All the things you don't recognize as belonging to someone else belong to me.

This is the last chapter. I'm sorry to say that. This, at least, is coming along a lot faster than the others. Please read and review this chapter and, if possible, tell me what you think of my story overall. Thanks to all those who have dealt with me!

Thanks to Kiyama who reviewed my last chapter!

Last Time 

Once they all arrived back at Yugi's house, they all camped out in the living room with several blankets and pillows. Selene and Damien curled up on a recliner while Yugi and Yami lay together on the other one. Jason, Jake, and Derek (in that order) curled up in front of the couch.

On With The Story 

Jake woke up first that morning and lay for a moment between his two lovers before he realized that he was the first one awake. A wide grin split his face in two as he very carefully slid out from between Jason and Derek. He quickly placed a pillow between them so they wouldn't miss him for a while.

Taking a moment to observe the, for now, peaceful scene while he could. They he smirked evilly and headed toward the kitchen. First he went to the connected garage and fetched three buckets, a long rope, and some duct tape. When he went to the kitchen he picked up two things that he'd managed to buy over at the mall without anyone else noticing. Smirking, he cut the rope into six long pieces and three shorter pieces. He also took out three bowls. He taped a piece of short rope on each bowl, making a handle on each. He filled the buckets with water and added a bit of pink liquid that would stain skin pink, neon pink, and make sure that it would stay pink for several hours. He also put some white itching powder in each of the bowls. Then he got out several knives and made three double-strength poles by wrapping them together with duct tape.

Next he headed out and securely taped the makeshift poles to each of the three fan blades. Then he placed first the bucket and then the bowl onto the pole and taped the handles down. Then he attached one long rope to the bottom of each container. He carefully positioned them over the sleeping groups before taking the ropes, careful to keep them separate by what was in the container, and moving to the edge of the room. Counting to three silently in his mind, he pulled the strings attached to the buckets with the pink liquid.

It dumped over the three groups, completely soaking them. Selene and Yugi were lucky enough that they both jumped away out of instinct right before the itching powder got dumped on them.

Hearing the laughter, Selene instantly leapt toward the source of that laughter. Jake, expecting this to happen, ran. Selene gave chase, followed closely by Yugi while everyone else ran to the bathrooms because they started itching uncontrollably. The trio ran around the house while Jake sang merrily.

"All around the mulberry bush, my partners chase a loony. I run for my life!" he started to recite to the beat of "Pop Goes the Weasel."

Suddenly, Selene and Yugi both took a flying leap towards him and Jake went down like a sack of bricks. Selene flipped him over so he was face up and she was on top of him.

"What the hell did you do?" Selene growled while she held onto the front of the redhead's shirt with her quickly drying arms. Selene was currently straddling his chest with her knees up in his underarms. Yugi was currently witting on his feet so he couldn't kick his way out.

"I-I," Jake started gasping out between laughs, "I-I d-doused you all…with…with pink skin dye…a-and…itching powder!" Jake's laughs doubled.

Selene growled louder then grinned as she placed her still wet hands on his face, causing him to sputter. Yugi took her cue and started to place his wet hands onto Jake's sensitive stomach, making him struggle between protesting and laughing. Laughing won out of course.

Soon Damien and Yami came down with soaking hair and pink skin, both looking pissed.

Raising an eyebrow as Jake's currently very vulnerable position, Damien drawled, "Now what exactly is going on here?"

"Well, we just found out that the pink dye won't come out for a while and will only stain our skin. Thus I thought it appropriate that I give him a pink face while Yugi gave him pink ribs. The tickling was just an added bonus."

Damien rolled his sapphire eyes and shot a look at Yami to see him doing the same to see their respective lovers acting like vengeful children. Then he grinned and decided to help them. Hey, what goes around comes around. By the time poor Jake was finally released, all four of his teammates, Yugi, and Yami had had a turn at his ribs. They also weaseled out that the dye would last, approximately, six hours. That had earned him another hard tickling by everyone present.

Finally, satisfied by the fact that Jake could no long speak any coherent words, Selene and Yugi climbed off of the redhead.

"Hey you guys, what time is it anyway?" Selene suddenly asked, curious.

"It's about noon, why?" Yugi replied after glancing at the clock in the living room.

"That means the dye will wear off about six," Jason chimed in as he glared at his still incapacitated lover.

"And six is…" Damien trailed off, the fact that this was their last day for this visit hitting home, "when we need to head to the airport."

Everyone went silent, they too remembering that they had been scheduled to leave at 6:45.

"Well," Jake exclaimed as he finally finished with his fits, "why don't we just hang out until then! I can make lunch!"

"Oh hell no," the emerald-eyed girl interrupted, "last time you made lunch, we all ended up sick. You are not allowed to make lunch. I can, and someone _else_ can help me."

Jake pouted as Derek and Damien volunteered to help Selene while the others went to see what movies they had.

They ended up eating sobe with cokes all around while they watched _The Grudge,_ the movie that Yugi had dug out of the pile of DVD's that lay beside the TV.

All too soon, it was time six, and the pink dye had, thankfully, worn off all the way. Sadly, the Venetors grabbed all the clothes they'd bought at the mall when they'd first gotten there and had headed out to catch the bus, a cleaner one this time. They arrived at the airport and went straight to the jet sent by the Venetors' organization.

"Well…," Selene started, still unsure about how to continue despite how many times it'd happened, "I guess this is goodbye."

"No, just see you later," Yugi replied, "you do have to come back yet again after all."

"Of course," Jake grinned, "I still have many more pranks up my sleeve and I need more vic…I mean _helpers_ when it comes to testing them out."

Yami rolled his ruby eyes and offered the Venetors a smile, "Be sure that you come back soon. This visit wasn't what one would call a vacation."

"No problem, we'll just ask for time off soon," Damien smirked, knowing that the other Venetors were rolling their eyes at the idea that the organization would give them one easily.

"We deserve it from them anyway," Jason continued, "so we'll be back soon to annoy you again."

"You heard them," Selene smiled, "I'll make the bastards in charge give us time off if I have to. Just wait around and we'll surprise you."

"Yep, we couldn't have you expecting us after all," Derek smiled as he looked across at the two nearly identical yet opposite tri-haired lovers.

"Good, I'll be sure that we don't leave Jake alone next time," Yugi grinned, knowing that it would be pointless to be upset over them leaving because they would be back before he knew it.

Yami and Yugi waved as the plane flew slowly out of site, knowing that while the parting was sad, they would see their odd friends again soon enough.

The end.

I finally finished. And it's really sad too. I now have to let go of so many of my favorite characters! Well, I hope you at least liked how this story went, please read and review.

And I would like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed this story. Thank you for sticking with me!

bast4

Curtis Zidane Ziraa

Yugi Mutou (Howling Fury)

zeynel

Rutu

Dark-Fox

Yana5

Koneko Hoshi

YYHgurl

marleen

Quest of the Dragon


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